


The Long Road Home

by JanetteWindham



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-14
Updated: 2016-02-10
Packaged: 2018-05-14 00:14:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 11
Words: 39,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5722384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JanetteWindham/pseuds/JanetteWindham
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A family banished from their home are stuck on Earth, or are they? Once they start to remember their lives in their home dimension, chaos and destruction ensue. If you like the story, please leave some feedback. No new chapters will be posted until I get feedback from someone other than my sister.....</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Prologue

  
  
  


    The two storey tan house was her objective. It sat on a small slice of property with plenty of privacy shrubs to give her cover for her work. The blinds were open and light shone from the windows. She had watched as the car had been parked in the attached garage. Having followed her target for several days, she sneered at the sheer banality of her mark’s life.

 

The witch was about to take her first step on the road to pain. Payment would be extracted for all the pain the witch had caused. Fingering the clear quartz stone she had been sent, she concentrated on the best place to hide it. She felt the power stored in the stone and smiled. Slipping the paper out of her pocket one last time, she looked over the words to ensure it was properly memorized. The letter gave her very strict instructions on how to approach her target and her schedule. It even gave her name. A sneer flashed on her face.  _ Jennifer Harris, a pedestrian name for a stupid little human woman. _

_    The stupid woman has worked so hard on her precious flower garden. She provided the perfect setting for my work. _ Her lips curled up in a cruel smile. With the thinning of the walls between the worlds, she felt the coming explosion of her target’s powers. She knew she had to get this just right or her handler would kill her. He would kill her. He took no excuses, failure was punished by death. With her hair piled on the top of her head, she pulled a dark ski hat over them. Snatches of songs pinwheeled through her head and she could not resist humming along. The tasks she had been set were easy. Happily unbalanced, she had no conscience to get in the way of her orders. 

 

While cataloging the flowers that had been planted, all she could feel was disgust.  _ Catmint, yarrow, daisies, verbena, and lavender all in a row. How pedestrian, _ she thought nastily. Taking a deep breath, she snuck up to the house keeping to the shadows as much as possible.

 

She snickered to herself as she buried the crystal under a clump of verbena on the side of the house. “So much for it warding off evil” 

 

    A shadow crossed the lighted square on the ground and she froze. She peeked in the window and caught sight of the woman inside. The altar was laid out and candles were lit. 

 

    Panic drove her on and she packed the soil on tight. Following her instructions, she gathered a handful of the bark bedding that had been laid earlier in the day. The chant flowed easily from her lips as she knelt on the ground. Bits of bark fell from her hand with each circle of the bedding. Once to cast. Once to set. Once to seal. With another peek through the window, she saw her target begin her ritual. Moving swiftly, she skirted the generous covered front porch. In the last moments before the woman was within the safety of her shielded circle, the redhead cast a quick spell of her own. A decorative rock in the front flowerbed was the perfect carrier. It was an innocent item that its owner had placed herself.  _ How powerful will she be if she cannot remember who she is? _ She pressed two of her fingers to her lips hold in her mirth.

 

As she drove away, she finally loosed her peals of laughter. Her job was done and her need for revenge was satisfied for the moment. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1

  
  
  


Freed from her usual work day clothing and the cares and worries of her day, she took a long cleansing bath. Her white ritual robe was waiting for her on her bed, but as she dried herself, she ignored it and walked the short distance from her bedroom to the spare room. She had prepared the room earlier in the day with the candles and offerings she wanted. Comfortable in her nudity in the empty house, she knelt in the middle of the room and centered herself.

The spare bedroom in her house had been decorated to her own taste and her own purpose. As a solitary witch, her rituals and magical items were different than those a coven used, but they worked for her. The walls were painted in the elemental colors, each according to the direction the room faced. Each of the basic colors had been easy enough to slap on the walls, but the murals she had painstakingly painted had taken months.

The sun was setting and it’s last rays illuminated the room giving her enough light to dodge the small tables she had set up and to let her settle in her place in the middle of the room behind a small altar. Facing the north, she let the painting of fertile fields and forests calm her mind and allow her to not only center herself, but to use the image of a tree to ground herself. A surge of energy came up from the earth through to the top of her head.

“By my will, the circle is cleansed.” The power coursing through her spread through the room, pushing out any negative energies. “By my will, the circle is cast.” A thin blue line ran around in a circle starting from in front of her and ending at its beginning.

    “Guardians of the watchtowers of the north, element of earth, fertile fields and verdant woods, granting life giving food and nourishment.” A small potted shrub with red veined leaves stood next to a tall green candle. “Please watch over me as I travel and be my tether to bring me back when my journey is done.” The candle flickered to life, the flame giving a soft glow.

    Without moving, she focused to her right and closed her eyes. “Guardians of the watchtowers of the east, element of air, winds of change and insight, please buffer me and hold me aloft as I fly free of this physical form.” A white feather sat on a small table next to a yellow candle. It lit by itself and wavered as if in a light wind.

    Her attention shifted behind her with her eyes still closed. “Guardians of the watchtowers of the south, element of fire, please let the light guide me and purify my heart as I travel between the realms.” A small cone of incense rested on a plain burner next to a blood red candle. Just as the other two, the candle lit itself.

    To the left of her, was a window showing the last glow before night slid completely over the land. She opened her eyes and concentrated on the small table which held a seashell and a blue candle. “Guardians of the watchtowers of the west, element of water, please wash away my worries and cares of this world so that I may focus on the next and what is needed there.” The candle sprang to life.

    All four candles were the only light in the room until she laid her hands on the altar. “With the watchtowers called, I call upon Spirit, the force that binds us all together to join me in this sacred space.” She gently blew on the purple candle in front of her lighting the wick with one breath. “This is a time that is not a time, a place that is not a place, a fit meeting place for the Gods.”  She raised her arms letting combined energies run through her into the ground. “As it is above, so shall it be below. The circle surged and expanded until it was sphere enclosing and protecting her.

    Her green eyes narrowed in concentration as she sat in the middle of the sphere. Stress lifted and she let out a breath. The feeling of being hunted disappeared. For the first time in a week, she felt completely safe.

    She cupped the chalice in her hands and raised it to eye level. “Great Goddess, Lady of All, bless this your child with your grace, love and protection. Lady of the Hunt, please remove the one who is a danger to me and to those I am pledged to protect. Hail and welcome” She set the chalice back in its place.

    Raising her ritual dagger, her athame, she paused and collected herself. “Great God, consort of the Goddess, watch over us all and aid the Goddess in her great works of creation and destruction. As She is the life giver, so is She the reaper of her children when their lessons are learned. Hail and welcome.” Placing the dagger next to the chalice, she relaxed the guard she had put up.

    The ritual finished, she sat in the protected place and called her racing thoughts. Deep rhythmic breathing focused her enough to be able to leave her body. The lightness and freedom that came with the shedding of her physical body was a relief. She took the form of a hawk and let herself fly free.  _ I’m coming Linden, wait for me please. _

    Winds buffeted her, disorienting her until with a scream of defiance the feeling of being torn apart, shredded, and then falling until she hit a solid surface.

Awareness came slowly, but when it did, her mind started again with an almost audible click. Keeping her eyes closed, Jen allowed her other senses to feed her what little information they could gather. Confusion caused her breath to hitch and her stomach to churn. Adrenaline pumped through her veins and panic made her chest tighten painfully. Her surroundings felt wrong to every sense she possessed. 

Falling asleep while meditating had not happened before, but it seemed to be the most logical conclusion.   _ I wasn’t that tired,  _ she mused. She took several deep breaths to help push the panic away and opened her eyes. Inhaling quietly was the only other reaction she allowed herself.  The walls of her ritual room had been what she was expecting. Looking around she had to squint against the glare of pure white. Everything around her, including her clothing was white. It made her head hurt and she worried triggering another migraine.

Her head spun as she sat up and she pressed her fingers to her temples. “I was meditating, not getting drunk. Why do I feel hungover?" She muttered. 

    Voices came from the other side of the door, but the pitches swung wildly from too sharp to too flat. The two arguing started raising their voices, becoming louder and more emphatic. The actual words were unintelligible to her.

    Focusing on the details, she let her eyes roam around the room. Small things had saved her life once, and she trained her mind to quickly sort through objects around her. A list of items for self defense formed in her mind as she registered each thing in the room with her. Colors coming through the window drew her eyes back to it when she tried to look away. Pounding in her head forced her to close her eyes and take deep breaths.

When a tall thin man entered the room, Jen scrambled off the bed and grabbed the lamp from the bedside table. Her eyes narrowed as she inspected the newcomer. The dark pants and red shirt contrasted with his pale skin and hair. His long blond hair fell around him and his blue eyes seemed to absorb her. He looked her over from head to toe and it made her want to squirm. 

    The man’s nose looked as if it had been broken a few times, but his teeth were white and straight when he smiled at her. Her eyes were drawn to the dimple in his chin and she wondered if it could be considered a strong chin or just a big one. Jen studied him and noted his major features just in case she had to describe him to someone.

“What are you doing love? We were supposed to meet at the market.” At her look of confusion, he backed up a step and reevaluated the situation. ”Don’t be afraid, no one here would harm you." He held up his hands as if that would make him seem more harmless. “What do you remember?” His voice was smooth with an accent that sounded vaguely Germanic.

“I was meditating, in my home. I must have fallen asleep. Then I was here and now I feel sick. Are you a doctor? Where am I?” Jen gripped the lamp tightly and pressed herself back against the wall as far as she could. Her heart beat quickly, but her instincts allowed her to start relaxing.

    Taking a deep breath, she opened herself up to try and use the small gift of empathy she had always relied on. Pain crashed through her as she was assaulted by a full gamut of emotions and even voices from people she could not see. Surprise flashed across her face as she dropped the lamp. The shattering sound gave her an anchor to pull herself herself back under her shields.

    Tentatively, Jen reached out again and received only impressions from him. Feeling that he meant her no harm and that he loved her, she slammed her shields back into place as she was overwhelmed once more. She moved slightly away from the wall and consciously fought to relax her shoulders.

“No, I am not a doctor. This is not a hospital, it is an orientation center and waiting area. You are in Afallach. No one here would harm you. Please sit for me and I will attempt to explain.” Linden settled himself at the end of the bed. His appearance was deceptively lanky when he took up almost half of the bed. 

She took a deep breath and settled gingerly at the head of the bed. Instinct was telling her to trust him, but she still tried to keep as much distance between them as possible. Tucking her hair behind her ear, she looked down. Her hair was red. Pulling her hair forward, she examined it. 

    Jen held up a hand at Linden and pulled a lock of hair forward. It took a moment for her mind to truly accept what she was seeing. Hair cascaded down to her waist and was a startling shade of copper red. Confusion was plain on her face as she frowned. The hair was wavy and suggested that without the sheer weight of it there would be large curls. When she had gone to sleep, she had dark brown hair. Patting her herself over, she could tell she was thinner than she had been as well. “A mirror, I would kill for a mirror right now.” She muttered.

“Now, you know who I am, who are you and why are you here?” Her eyes met his and felt as if she had been punched in the stomach. Recognition filtered through from her subconscious, but no memories were attached to it.

“I don’t know what happened to make you forget, but my name is Linden. I am here because I am someone who knows you. Those in charge thought that I would be the best one to explain things. I have no idea why. I usually make a mess out of things, but they sent me anyway. I can’t explain how I know you. You must remember things on your own. There are certain rules we have to go by to avoid issues.” Linden crossed to the door and opened it a crack. Whispering to someone she could not see, she waited until he smiled and turned towards her on the bed. Sitting with his back against the footboard, he stretched his long legs out towards her.

“I’m Jennifer, but I go by Jen. None of this makes sense. You say I knew you. I feel like I should know you, but I can’t remember. I have red hair and I’m thinner than I was. I need a mirror, but I’m pretty sure I look differently than I did before I fell asleep. Am I in a hospital? Have I been ill? Was I kidnapped?” She hurled the questions at him.

“I told them I would make a mess with this.” Dropping his head down, he muttered something too low for her to hear. Taking a moment to just study her face, he mentally called himself back to business and cleared his throat.  “You are a witch, yes?” 

    He paused long enough to catch her nod of assent. 

    “You believe in other worlds and other lives, yes?” 

    Again he paused for her acknowledgement. 

    “You are American in this life, yes?” 

    His eyes glittered as they homed in on her mouth. He shook his head as if to bring himself out of his thoughts. “Then you would call this place Avalon. You were here before your life there. You lived here and loved here, but were betrayed and sent to the other world.”

“Avalon is a myth.” Her voice was flat with denial and disbelief.

“Witches and witchcraft are myth. Gods and Goddesses are myth. Afallach is real” He retorted, his accent thick with annoyance.

She was distracted by his pronunciation of the word. “Afa-lach. Afa and latch without the t in it huh?” 

    Her attempt to say the last part of the word made him smile. 

    “Say I believe you, say I believe I’m in Avalon, or Afallach as you call it. Who are you to me and how do I know you?” She stood and paced to the window. Keeping her back toward him, she tried to convey her dismissal of him as a threat. Studying the view outside, she felt her head start pounding. It was at a level she could handle, but she could only hope it did not escalate. 

“I can’t tell you. Some things you must remember on your own. I’m concerned that you seem to have forgotten. ” He paused and smiled at her. When she turned back to him his eyes focused on her lips again. A knock at the door caused him to jump and make his way to the door. The door opened from the other side and he pulled a small hand mirror into the room. ”Your mirror.” He handed it over to her.

She cradled the mirror in one arm and gazed into it. The thin, sharp nose was slightly too short for the face, a chin that could hardly get any sharper, and dark blue eyes were almost too large stared back at her. It was an attractive enough face, heart shaped and well put together, definitely not what she was used to seeing every day.

“You have been cleared by the healers to leave this room. I am to escort you around and see if your memories return based on sights and sounds.” He stood and held out a hand to her. She set the mirror on the bed before sweeping out of the room. He smiled as she walked in front of him refusing his hand. He chuckled softly and followed her out, towering over her petite frame.

    “Back up a bit bucko. I know I’m short, but I don’t like people so close.” She skittered forward a bit faster to put more space between them. 

“As you wish,” he said in a fake english accent. He laughed when she rolled her eyes at him. He knew she would catch the reference to the movie The Princess Bride. His satisfied smirk changed to one of denial as a small dark haired missile came barreling around the corner. “Nein! No!” He started in German and corrected himself to English.

“Auntie, Auntie, Auntie! You’re back!” She took a step back to recover her balance holding the child close to her. Shooting a very bewildered look at her tour guide, she hugged the little girl to her.

“Sweetheart, we discussed this. Something happened and she doesn’t remember us yet. You were supposed to wait until I brought your aunt to you.” He gently disengaged the girl from Jen’s arms and pulled the child to him.

“It’s okay, she knows me obviously.” Jen held her hand out and the teen latched onto it like a limpet.

“Of course I know you. You are my aunt Lyra.” She jiggled up and down as if she could not contain her happiness. Jen examined the long split skirt and short sleeved shirt the girl was wearing. The fabrics were in clashing neon colors. Neon yellow and pink assaulted her eyes and made her wince with increased pain in her head.

“Okay, I’m Lyra and you are?” Jen pushed the girl’s hair back so she could see the child’s face. Hazel green eyes stared back at her. 

    The girl’s pert little nose wrinkled as she took a deep breath. She was about to launch into what seemed like a lengthy monologue, when she was cut off.

“Enough, little one. She has to remember on her own. You may have hurt things with your impatience. Go find your grandmother and we will talk later.” Linden frowned, feeling like a monster when tears filled the girl’s eyes.

“Yes Uncle Linden.” She ran down the hall away from them before giving in to her tears.

“Uncle Linden?” she asked, longing to go after the youngster.

“It is an honorary title. I am not related to her parents.” He waved his hand towards the exit, motioning for her to keep moving.

She gasped as she exited the building. Marble columns held up the massive roof and the decorations engraved there seemed more like they could be a language. Focusing on the steps, she made sure she would not trip over her own feet before looking out at the town. Everything was brighter, more vibrant, more colorful than the world she left behind. She squirmed as she felt his hand on the small of her back gently steering her away from the town itself. A flash of a memory, worn, like an old photograph, made her jump. She whirled around and poked her finger into his stomach.

“I know you. I know you Linden. You wonderful, stupid man!” Standing on tiptoe, she leaned up and grabbed the front of his shirt. As she tugged on it, he leaned down and kissed her. When their lips met, her mind was overwhelmed with new information. Flashes of memories burst to life behind her eyes. Scenes filled with love and laughter played, picnics with him, long nights in front of a huge fireplace. She was hit with memories of crying in a garden alone, grieving for him while others hovered in the background.

Jen pulled away and hit him in the arm. “I remember grieving for you! I remember you leaving me!”

“I can explain. Give me a chance Lyra, please?” Pulling her back to him he held her close. He closed his eyes and savored the feel of her in his arms, while protecting himself from another hit.

“My name is Jen, not Lyra you oaf! Why can I only remember you? Everything else is still blocked, but I remember you.” Her words were muffled by his shirt and he grudgingly let her pull away enough to be understood. He gave an inch and she took a mile. She slipped completely out of his arms and put her hands in her pockets.

“Memory comes and goes. Things can get triggered in odd ways. You remembered me because of an old gesture. The rest will come in time.” He tried to put his arm around her, but she stepped back trying to maintain some space.

“What was that jolt? It hurt, but in a good way. All I can think of now is getting you alone with a bed.” Jen shook her head banishing old memories and new images that were in her mind.

“It wouldn’t be the first time. It’s called bonding. It happens when two people touch who are compatible genetically, biologically and mentally. It can start an empathic or sometimes even telepathic bond between them. It’s rare, but we had it before. We had it recently. Whatever has affected your memory has also had the effect of breaking our bond.” His hands itched to grab her, to hold her and feel her skin again. He fought the impulse. 

“Hmph, inconvenient if you ask me. Stupid hormones, always making life harder. We are supposed to be on a tour right? What is that building up there?” She pointed at a lightly fortified manor house up a hill. “Some sort of royalty looking down on the little people here?”

His eyes opened wide in surprise and humor. Fighting hard, he restrained himself from laughing. “If my lady wishes, we can go see it. It was on the list of stops we were to make today.”

“Let’s go then! I went to Europe as a teen and I loved touring the big houses and castles. They were amazing to look at. I wanted to move into one of them.“ She paused for a moment. “Oddly enough, it looked kind of like that one.” She heard him snicker and poked him in chest. “Something funny dear?”

“Funnier than you know L-Jen, but by all means, let us skip parts of the tour and make straight for the royal compound.” He could not keep from snickering as he pulled her back and in what seemed the opposite direction from the building she was aiming for.

She looked down and noticed for the first time the she was wearing thin slippers on cobblestone streets. “These will be okay right? I’m not going to end up with cuts on my feet or anything?”

“You’ll be fine.” When she was not looking, Linden watched her closely. Fear and sorrow filled him at what may have been done to her, that she did not remember their lives or what they had been forced to do. 

She gawked at the shops and markets around her. Men walked around in basic pants or kilts and women for the most part were in dresses. It was a colorful and noisy area. She heard people haggling and bartering in the distance and saw children running and playing under the watchful eyes of their mothers.

Turning in circles to take everything in, she started to lag behind him. “Hey!” Jen called out to him. “Mister long legs, hold up.” He patiently waited for her to catch up and she folded her arms defensively. She felt every inch of her five foot one inch height standing next to him. “You have to be about six and a half feet tall, give me a break. I’m too short to keep up.”

“Then don’t dawdle my lady and we will make good time.” He smirked seeing annoyance flash in her eyes.

With an entirely automatic move, she hooked her ankle around his and toppled him to the ground. “I am no lady.” Jen snapped at him. “That’s been shoved in my face my entire life.” She stopped, for a second, horrified. “I’m not dead am I?”

Linden looked up at her as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. “No, you’re merely sleeping. During your meditation you were able to slip from your body and were drawn here. I don’t know if you will remember in your body what you know here, but I hope you do. I promise, you are very much alive in your world, just as I am.” He snapped his teeth shut angry, at himself. He knew he had said too much.

“Wait, you are on Earth too? Why have I never met you?” Fed up, Jen yelled at him. “Hello. Don’t ignore me.”

Regaining his feet he dusted himself off. He hid his embarrassment at her besting him. “I am in another country. We may never meet in that world. This may be all we get.” Linden started walking again, leaving her behind.

“What? Why were we split to begin with?” Jen jogged a little, catching back up to him.

“I can’t answer. You must remember on your own.” He refused to look at her and kept moving toward a guard post. Forcing her to keep up with him, he kept moving without making allowances for their differences in height. His pace made it too hard for her to keep asking questions.

As he waved to the guards, they bowed and allowed the two to pass without an inspection. She was too busy absorbing architecture and how people dressed to notice that their eyes followed her every movement.

    There were buildings everywhere and she wondered at their function. Without more people around, there were no clues.They were built of gray stone and so well fitted together that she could not see any mortar between the stones. They kept moving, keeping to the path. When the gardens started, she felt a pang in her heart at the rampant neglect evident around her. Plants and bushes were tangled and let run wild, roses had climbed into trees and along the walls.

Little things bled through in her memory. Sounds of a child’s laughter and a flash of dark hair peeking around a bush, the wail of another child when he fell and scraped his knee. She saw dark brown eyes looking down at her with love and concern. Strong hands helped her back to her room from the gardens. Memories were coming back and she felt relief at gaining a little bit of her past.

Jen forced herself to pay attention to what was around her. She silently scolded herself for not keeping better track of her surroundings. Harsh lessons had taught her to keep alert at all times.

They passed through another guard post and she could see the manor house. The circuitous route had finally brought her to her destination. The rosy marble like stone seemed to glow in the sunlight making it look as if it were glowing from within. She tilted her head back and was impressed at the four story building. Balconies with iron wrought railings and Greek columns gave the place a very Mediterranean feel. 

A single tower speared into the sky several stories above the building and it niggled at the back of her mind. Something was trying to push through. A sigh of contentment escaped from her at how right it felt to be there.

When she paused too long at the bottom of the stairs, Linden took her hand in his and tugged her toward the doors. Setting her heels, she pulled her hand out of his and refused to let him rush her. “What do the words say?” 

    Pain flashed in his eyes so quickly that she may have missed it if she had not been watching him closely. “What hurts you so much that you fight not to show it?”

    “I can’t answer that. The door says that here lives the heart of Avalon.” Linden watched her as she traced her hand over the carved words and the blue crescent moons resting on their curve.

    “You are short on answers, but big on mystery. I don’t think I like that.” Goosebumps raised on her arms at the shielding on the entryway. Pushing through the energy and the doors, she felt as if she were being welcomed home.

    Jen walked past him and halted. It was a large main hall with a soaring ceiling and to her left were ornate chairs and spindly sofa in a conversational grouping. To her right was a wall of paintings with matching chairs lined up under them. The royal blue and silver contrasted with the white marble walls, the upholstery was patterned in spirals and drops of water. The walls to the left were covered in tapestries of forest scenes. She wanted to examine them more closely, but Linden’s hand on her back steered her towards the furthest paintings. He held a hand over her eyes and stopped her exactly where he wanted her.

    Linden let her free and she blinked a few times before she could focus properly. In front of her was a painted portrait in an ornate silver frame. The dark haired man seemed familiar, and she assumed that the red haired woman was his wife. 

    Jen noticed a sheet over what she assumed was another portrait next to it. Reaching up, she pulled off the cover. She caught only a glimpse of the frame before everything went dark.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2

 

Sitting up groggily, she saw her altar in front of her on the floor. Her candles had gone out and the wax had hardened. “That was some nap. Weirdest dream I’ve had in a long time. At least I didn’t catch the place on fire.” Laying back briefly on the floor, it took her a moment to gather her wits enough to finish her ritual. 

With her protective circle released, she packed her altar items away in a carved wooden chest. She palmed the aventurine stone she had charged and set it beside her bed. To be comfortable, she slipped into her flannel pyjamas before heading for the bathroom. The mirror reflected back what she had seen thousands of time before. Her short upturned nose and deep set green eyes stared back at her. She licked her full lips and shook her head. “Same thing I see every day."

Taking care of household chores, she fought to make sense of her dream. The experience had shaken her, but as she went on with her night she could not put it to rest in her mind. Picturing the layout of the reception area on the first floor of the manor house, she was reminded of an old fashioned parlor for socializing. She played out the little she had seen of the large space and the paintings over and over. Details became sharper the more she examined the memories.

While waiting for her frozen dinner to finish in the microwave, she turned on her laptop computer. Opening multiple tabs in her browser window, she ran several searches at once. A social networking site kept her entertained while waiting for results. She texted her best friend and described her dream, but wished she had not after being made to repeat herself several times. 

Jen jumped as she heard a knock on her door. Frowning, she opened the front door and stepped back quickly as her friend brushed by her. “Sasha, what are you doing here?”

Sasha draped her coat over the back of the couch and Jen scooped it up with a sigh. It was a constant point of annoyance that Sasha refused to hang up her coat and tossed it wherever she liked. Jen shook her head and hung it up on a hook on the wall next to hers. 

She studied Sasha as the woman shook the rain out of her hair and kicked off her shoes. Short, dyed, red hair and long legs were always the first things that people saw when it came to her friend. Jen sighed and wished she looked more like her friend, but genetics and a love of food kept her short and less than slender. 

Shaking her head over how innocent her friend looked, Jen studied Sasha’s face again noting the hazel eyes, heart shaped face and the nose with the dimple at the end that gave Sasha an innocent look that was deceiving.

“Jen, honestly. Why am I here? You tell me about this dream, a dream about a whole other world and a hottie and you don’t expect me to show up? Now fess up, have you drawn him yet? I have to know what he looks like!” She plopped down on the navy blue couch and sprawled there arms and legs akimbo until she spotted the still steaming mug of cocoa. Jen had poured it for herself and frowned as Sasha snatched it. Her friend wrinkled her nose as she realized it was not coffee, but kept possession of it anyway.

“Hey! That was mine. It’s not sugar free,” Jen grumped. “You’re going to have to use more insulin to deal with it.”

“Was, now it’s mine. I have more insulin at home. So what did he look like?” Sasha sipped the cocoa and waited less than patiently. Her eyes tracked her friend as Jen went to retrieve her forgotten dinner from the kitchen.

“No, I haven’t drawn him yet. I’m waiting to see if I see him again.” Jen called from the kitchen. “There was too much I wanted to draw. Him, the girl, the manor house, the people in the marketplace, all of it was so interesting. I could’ve happily sat there for days just drawing people.” She brought another mug of cocoa and her meal. Eating quickly, she relaxed back into her recliner.

“Do you think it was real? I mean we’ve read about other worlds and dimensions, but I never thought we could honestly get there. You got there by accident. Do you think I could get there too? What a corny name though, as if Avalon was ever real, I mean come on.” Sasha huddled under a lap blanket and sipped from her mug. She often felt she had to play devil’s advocate using her skeptical attitude on life to keep Jen from going overboard.

Jen closed her eyes and counted to ten silently before responding. “It felt real. I could touch and smell and feel. I didn’t get a chance to see if I could taste because I didn’t eat anything, but it felt real.” Pausing for a moment she allowed her eyes to unfocus. She bit her lip as she examined her feelings. “I don’t know if you can get there. He didn’t say anything about other people, just him and me. I think it was real, really Avalon ya know? After all, myths have to start somewhere.” Jen tugged her hair out far enough to check the color. “I’ve never been a redhead in a dream before.”

Jen pictured Linden again. She drifted off thinking about how he kissed and shivered remembering how it felt when he held her.

“Earth to Jen! You’re sitting here, no television, no music, no fire? This really must have thrown you off your stride.” Sasha reached over and grabbed the remote. Switching it on, the first thing that popped up was the nightly news. Sasha adjusted her insulin pump to account for the cocoa. 

Jen tuned everything out until a voice caught her attention. She stared at the screen. When Sasha acted as if she would change the channel, Jen held out her hand towards her friend. “If you want to live, do NOT change the channel. It’s him! That’s Linden!” She snatched the remote form her friend.

Sasha gave Jen an odd look. “No, that’s Michael Janson. He’s some high muckety muck businessman in Austria. He is helping finance what they’re calling ‘Project Avalon.’ They’re trying to put together bits of all flora and fauna deep underground in case of nuclear war. Wait, maybe you’ve seen this before and dreamed about it without realizing you knew it.”

“I don’t watch the news remember? There is more than enough bad in the world without it beaming into my living room.” Jen waited until his segment on the news was done and then switched the television to another news station, trying to find a glimpse of him on another channel.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, world peace, feed the hungry, take care of your fellow man, blah blah blah. I’m all for helping others, but jeez Jen, you have got to get a thicker skin. There has always been bad in the world and always will be.” Sasha paused for a moment. “At least now you can print out a picture of him. Mister Hottie has to be all over the internet. He actually is a hottie too. Last time you called someone that, I wanted to have your eyes checked.” Sasha held her hand out demanding the remote and Jen tossed it over. Sasha flicked through the channels quickly and found a cartoon family sitcom.

Jen watched her friend sprawl on the couch again and smiled. She said nothing against the well worn argument. Ignoring the television, she pulled her laptop to her and did a quick search for Michael Janson and Project Avalon. The more she found, the better it and he sounded until she hit an interview with him. “He’s married and has a daughter. Bang goes that idea, Austria actually started to look good for a moment.”

“You move away again and I’ll hog tie you and bring you back in my luggage.” Sasha said without taking her eyes off the screen.

“Don’t worry, mister hottie is taken. I’m not going anywhere.” She typed in yet another search on Avalon and shook her head at the number of hits.

Quiet reigned while they both paid attention to their individual interests. 

Shutting down the laptop, Jen stretched. “Bedtime. Work in the morning. You staying here or are you going back to John’s house?” She asked with a yawn. 

“Eh, I’ll go to his house. He’s expecting me to be in the bed with him. He acts like a total idiot, ignores my feelings, makes me feel like crap and then wants to snuggle.” Sasha stood and stretched.

“You could always move in here you know, plenty of room.” Jen scooped up the mugs, a little obsessive about keeping her space neat.

“I would make you crazy in less than a week. We both know it. See you at work and don’t forget to tell me if this guy shows up in your dreams again. Something is up and I can feel it.” As Sasha showed herself out, Jen printed out a picture of Michael. She studied it and tried to picture Linden in her mind. There were laugh lines around his eyes and one of his bottom teeth was a little crooked, but he was almost identical. Slipping between the sheets in her bed, she started a preliminary sketch of his eyes. Noticing the time, she flinched when she saw it was hours past her normal bedtime. Scrambling, she went around checking windows and doors before finally slipping into bed. 

She was asleep in seconds.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3

 

Jen let Linden help her up off the floor and felt weightless. The moment her feet were solidly on the floor, she jerked away from him. “So Michael, how did you get here?”

As he pushed his hair out of his face, he frowned. “Found me again already eh? Between my project and your religion, it was bound to happen again soon. I came the same way you did. The person there for me was the little girl’s grandmother. I prefer to keep the worlds separate though. Here I am Linden as I always have been.”

Jen turned and looked at the painting she had uncovered. There stood Linden and a woman she was pretty sure now was her. “I need another mirror.” She stood there staring at the portrait assuming he would find one for her. Studying the painting, she paid close attention to the details. The sapphire blue dress looked medieval and an intricately braided silver circlet rested on her forehead. Surprised when a small hand mirror appeared in front of her, she jumped. Jen angled it to show her reflection.

“So I lived here and so did you. Who are they?” She turned and waved at the other painting. “Wait, I know, I know, you can’t tell me. I have to remember for myself.” Her tone was snotty and sarcastic. People keeping information from her really annoyed her. “The girl looks so familiar though. She looks almost like my friend Sasha.” Jen compared her memory of her friend to the girl in the painting. “Her face is more oval than heart shaped and her eyes are more almond shaped, but she has the same overall look and coloring.” Studying the man in the painting, a picture flashed in her head of a bass player from Earth. Deep set hazel eyes and a solid angular jaw teased her memory. The man’s straight, sloped nose had her scratching her head. “He looks like the bass player from an Austrian band called Painted.”

The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she felt him come up behind her. Jen gave in to a moment of weakness and leaned back against him letting him hold her. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment of oneness. With the brief moment of peace, she knew that he was part of her heart that had been missing for too long. 

“Well isn’t this a cozy picture. I thought Mister Hottie was taken?” Sasha’s voice rang out through the hall.

Jen jumped and spun to face her friend. The voice was right, but the face was not. “Sasha?” She was confused to see her friend in a white outfit of her own. Sasha’s red hair was natural and down past her shoulder blades. Jen could only shake her head.

“The one and the same, although here I seem to have been called Sashalia. You, my dear friend were Lyra. I remember everything. Including what you’ve done to her you jerk!” Sasha balled up her left hand and swung at Linden. She struggled against him when he locked her arm behind her back.

“What the hell Sash? I don’t even remember everything yet and you want to kill him?” Jen worked to put herself between her friend and Linden, forcing him to let go of her friend. Sasha danced back a few feet and balled both hands into fists.

“Nice to see you too Sashalia. If you remember everything, then you know I fought beside you at the end and tried to make sure everyone lived. Obviously I failed, but I was there when it counted!” He planted his feet and kept his arms and hands loose, ready to deflect anything Sasha tried to throw at him.

“Everyone just stop. You are making my head hurt.” When the two continued to bicker, she finally raised her voice. “Both of you sit down and shut the hell up!” Jen’s voice filled the room making both of the other occupants there flinch.

“Well, command does come naturally to you here my dear, just as it always has.” Linden crossed his arms over his chest and smirked as he settled into a chair along the wall. Jen looked around the room taking it all in and processing it. A formal sitting area led up to a grand staircase and Linden had plopped himself down in one of a row of armchairs that lined up under the paintings. She shook her head as Sasha darted into a small room hidden under the staircase itself. 

Sasha ducked back out of the room with a long knife hidden within a plain sheath. A tooled leather belt slipped through her hands. Light shone off the black diamond in the pommel as she buckled the belt around her waist.

“Oh shut it, I want to know what’s going on, who everyone is and who the hell I am.” Jen’s patience quickly ran out and her voice raised in anger.

“I told you, you have to remember on your own.” Linden dodged as Sasha aimed another punch at him. The resulting scream as her hand hit the wall behind him made Jen jump.

“Maybe I can help with all of this?” A male voice came from the entrance.

Jen turned sharply and recognized the man now filling the doorway as the one from Sasha’s painting. “You are?” She took a threatening step towards him, she was fed up with the secrets and being the only one who did not know everything.

“I’m Kieran. I was Sashalia’s husband and you raised me.” Walking towards them, he kept his hands out at his sides to show he was unarmed. The dark hair and hazel eyes were so like the little girl’s that Jen had to think they were related.

“I don’t remember you. I’m sorry.” Jen turned her back on him and went to Sasha. She silently examined her hand and listened to the quiet conversation of the men behind her. “I’m sorry Sash, but you broke it.” Running her fingers lightly over the break, Jen jumped in shock when a green light came from her skin and healed Sasha’s hand. “Someone want to explain what just happened?”

“You’re not just a healer on earth Jen, you’re one here too.” Sasha tried to explain. She was rudely interrupted by both men.

“We can’t tell her, she has to remember or it can damage her.” Kieran hurried to her side and gently took her hand in his.

“I’m done waiting, I’m done with the secrets.” Jen ground out the words between clenched teeth. Her hands formed into fists and she could feel her blood pressure rising. Light flared and the chair next to Linden’s burst into flames. The sight of the fire shocked her out of her anger. 

When the chair was reduced to ash she turned to the three others who had huddled together out of the way. “Now, I think explanations are in order before I end up harming someone?”

“You are Lyra. This land is Afallach or Avalon, founded by Brighid herself. Brighid made Avalon itself sentient to a degree to assist her in ruling. At one time you ruled here. When she settled here Brighid was pregnant.” Linden sucked in a breath and kept going. 

“She had been captured, tortured and impregnated against her will. Her father, Dagda sent her away to give birth and get rid of her children in the land of man. Instead, she took part of the land of man and made an entire world from it. There she gave birth to twins, although originally, she was pregnant with triplets. It is well documented that she gave birth to a girl and a boy. Lyra and Lyros. Lyros left to make his own way in the worlds when he reached majority. He left his twin to face the world their mother had created.” Linden sucked in another breath watching his wife and tried to make it quick to keep her from lightning anything else on fire.

“Brighid lost interest in the daughter she had birthed and never wanted. Lyra learned hard lessons and learned to rule the people who flocked to her banner. Being the child of Brighid, she had the gifts of music, healing, creation and fire.” Linden gave her a history lesson quickly and efficiently. He kept the fear out of his voice and made his way over to Jen. He took her hands in his and looked down into her eyes.

“Please tell me that Lyra is a title. Please tell me I am descended from the first Lyra.” Jen begged him, tears smarting in her eyes.

“If it is a title, then all of them have looked exactly the same. If they were different people, I would have noticed. I have been married to Lyra for a very long time.” Linden let go of one of her hands to gently cup her cheek.

“You’re telling me that I’m the daughter of Brighid and that all of this is mine. You’re trying to tell me, I am a ruler and that I am responsible for all of those people?” Jen’s voice went higher and higher as she continued.

To distract Jen before she could light something else on fire, Linden leaned down and kissed her. Knowing that distraction had always worked before when she was upset, he pulled her to him and wished that Sasha and Kieran would just disappear.

“You are Lyra and you raised me. You were more mother to me than my own. You raised my mother and you never age, never change.” Kieran was unhappy watching Linden kiss her. Like Sasha, he remembered what had been done to Jen. Unhappily, he wondered if history would repeat itself yet again. 

Jen broke away from Linden, her brain temporarily out of commission. She shook her head to clear it and focused on Kieran. “You are from that band in Austria that Sasha is obsessed over! You’re the bass player she dreams about.”

“Shut up Jen!” Sasha cried out, cheeks red with embarrassment.

“Dreams about? I’ve had dreams...” Kieran trailed off and then shook his head. “That is who I am there. Here I am Kieran, your ex ward and one of your best friends. Now where are my kids?” He looked around as if expecting them to pop out of nowhere.

“Wait, if Brighid is my mother, then who’s my father?” Jen looked between the three of them, hoping they had the answer. 

“No one knows. No one knows who my father was either,” he replied. “Emily! Christopher! Where are you?” Kieran gave a soft oomph as the same dark haired missile ran into him that had hit her earlier.

“Daddy!” Emily threw her arms around him and he swung her in a circle.

“Where is your brother my sweet? I thought he would be here to greet us as well.” He sat in one of the chairs pulling her down in his lap.

“He disappeared. Grandma took me from the healers put me into that place in secret when you were taken, but she could not find Chris to do that same to him. The last thing I remember is Grandma telling me that she would wake me up when you came home.” The child snuggled into her dad’s lap and hugged her mom only when she leaned down far enough to do so without having to get up.

That was the only thing that could make Jen smile right then, Emily was most definitely a daddy’s girl. “So why can you all remember, but I can’t?”

“We don’t know. The three of us remembered the moment we woke up in the white room. It can’t be because of who your mother is, my parents are both Gods and I remembered.” Sasha finally let go of her daughter and touched her friend’s shoulder.

“Your parents? Who are your parents?” Jen hugged her friend gaining distance from Linden.

“Hades and Persephone.” Sasha whispered the answer in her friend’s ear.

“Well at least I’m not the only weird one then.” Both women giggled. Jen pulled away from Sasha and took a deep breath. “Right, so the first things we need to do are figure out what is wrong with my memory, and find Christopher.”

“You remembered until recently Jen. It is why I was surprised to find you in the orientation center. As for Christopher, I have searched and so has Gwen. She looked the entire time you were gone. The best we can assume is that he has gone to another realm, or he is dead.” Linden sat back down in the same seat and ignored the pile of ashes next to him.

“He is not dead! I would know! Chris is my twin.” Emily stated emphatically.

“Do you know where he is, little love?” Kieran hugged his daughter closer.

“He is close and keeps telling me he’s fine and he’s coming. I can feel him, I mean I can feel him in my head.” Emily leaned her head against her father’s shoulder and hummed quietly.

“Okay, so we know Chris will be here soon and the whole family will be together. Why the hell can’t I remember? There are brown eyes missing.” Jen’s attention turned inward trying to pull as much of the memory forward as possible. “Two pairs of brown eyes. I remembered those eyes when I kissed Linden. The people with brown eyes helped me when Linden left me.” She roamed around the hall looking at paintings. Out of the blue she asked, “is anyone else hungry?”

She ignored Sasha’s teasing comment about being easily distracted and bunnies. Not waiting for an answer, Jen pushed one of the doors off the hall and stumbled into a huge kitchen. A plain silver teapot and sandwiches were arranged on a tray. Spotting a piece of paper with the food, she snatched it up and read it quickly.

Lyra,

Linden told me you had appeared at the orientation center. We are trying to find out why. I know things are confusing now, but stay patient and it will get better. There are people waiting to see you and people you need to reunite with. The tea will probably be cold by the time you get to it, but I think you will remember how to fix that. Have Kieran bring you to my house when you are ready.

All my love,  
Gwen

Jen carried the tray back into the hall and grabbed a sandwich from the plate. “So who is Gwen?”

“My mother.” Kieran responded between bites. The other three had devoured the entire plate of food and looked longingly at the pot of tea.

Seeing the looks Jen shook her head. “Fine, anyone know how this fire thing works without torching something?”

“Just put your hand on the kettle and picture the liquid inside bubbling away. That is what you told me once.” Linden supplied instructions trying to be helpful.

Jen held her hand on the top of the pot. She pictured the water hot, but not quite boiling. She screeched and hit the floor when the kettle blew a hole in the side. “Um, maybe we should go visit Gwen and find something to drink that I don’t try and turn into shrapnel.”

Emily grabbed her hand and pulled her up. “You will get the hang of it auntie. You just need practice. That’s what happened last time you were here. We need to go to grandma’s, I am sure she has got all kinds of food for us. She cooks when she is upset, so she has been cooking for a while. I think Chris is headed there anyway.”

*****

Strong arms grabbed her the moment Jen stepped across the threshold. Panic immediately set in and she wrenched herself away. Taking deep gulping breaths, she looked into his eyes and forced the panic back. Stepping away from him, she turned to look at the people assembled inside the little house.

Kieran hugged his mother, then set to introducing everyone. “The oaf who grabbed you is Ranald. He was the chief of your personal guard, your friend and your lover. The woman I hugged is my mother Gwen and this is her husband Anthony. Others will be dropping by later to see you and try to jog your memory.” He flopped down on a floral print couch and wrapped his arms around his daughter.

“You brought her were without her memory fixed?” Gwen demanded of her son. 

Righteous indignation showed on Gwen’s face as Jen looked the woman over. Looking up at the woman she noticed lines of dissatisfaction that radiated from the corners of Gwen’s deep set hazel eyes. The angular jaw was like her son’s, but frown lines bracketed her mouth. Gwen’s posture was aggressive as she stood there in her pants suit. “You could jeopardize everything!”

“She can’t remember, mother. She remembers Linden, but nothing else.” Kieran tickled Emily until she slithered out of his lap and smiled when Sasha slid into his lap. They settled together and Jen was fascinated by the way they relaxed into each other.

Jen held her hand out to Ranald expecting him to shake it. She almost pulled her hand back when he turned her hand over and kissed it, then rested his forehead on the back of it. Shivering, she felt the electrical shock of another bonding.

Linden gave an evil smile to Ranald. He glared at the other man daring him to try and take Jen away from him. Feeling the shock of bonding to the man through Jen, his jealousy rose and he pulled her away from the man who had once been his friend. When Jen fought back, he was blindsided.

After she fought her way out of Linden’s arms, she put a few feet of space between them. She met Ranald’s eyes and recognition finally hit. His dark brown eyes pulled her vision back into her mind. 

Ranald was just as she had remembered. There was very little remarkable about his looks other than his height. Jen noticed that his hair was longer than she remembered, even though it was tied back into a low ponytail. Ranald seemed startled when she took his hand again and held his palm to her cheek. She was comforted by the familiar feel of the callouses from weapons work on his fingers and palm.

“I know you. I know your eyes. You are always there behind me. You protect me and comfort me when I hurt.” Jen threw her arms around him, holding him tight. The feel of his arms around her and the scent of his cologne triggered more memories. She sorted through the memories. “Where is your twin? Ranulf never leaves your side.”

“Lost, my Lady. He was lost when you were, fighting to save you all.” Ranald held her tighter and tucked her head under his chin. “You ordered me to stay with Gwen and Emily for their protection.” He watched Linden for any threat to him or the woman in his arms.

“I’m sorry. Ranulf was a part of you. I can’t imagine how much it still hurts.” Jen rubbed her nose against his shoulder and made him chuckle.

“Let go of her!” Linden tried to reach for her to pull her back behind him. His territorial, macho display was not appreciated by any of them.

“That is beyond enough.” Gwen finally raised her voice enough to be heard. “One more outburst from you Linden and I will have to ask you to leave. I knew I should have sent Ranald down to her instead of you, but I was outvoted when Jyrki cast his vote for you.”

Linden stalked to the kitchen and pulled a chair into the living room planting himself as close to Jen as he dared. “She is MY wife, not his. She married me, not him and not his damn twin. Never was she bonded to him before!”

“That marriage was invalidated when you disappeared in the middle of the night. You did not come back for years. We had no idea if you were alive or dead. Ranald has stayed beside her consistently over the years.” Kieran ran a hand through his jaw length hair trying to organize his thoughts. “You have bonded again. This behavior is normal until the bond is complete, but get hold of yourself or I will find a way to break the bond.” His voice turned silky and full of menace. “After all, incomplete bonds are so easy to break.”

“Everyone just shut up!” Jen yelled, frustrated. She was shocked out of her anger when the people around her cringed. “I have no idea what is going on, who is what, or if I even want to be here. This is like having only every other word of a book, but not the whole book itself. You can make sense of things with a lot of time and effort, but we don’t have the time. I just want to wake up and forget all of this if people can’t just grow the hell up.”

Sasha stayed quiet and played with a lock of Kieran’s hair. She shifted slightly in her seat before opening her mouth. “Does anyone want a repeat of the burning chair or the exploding teapot?”

“You mean she doesn’t even know how to use her powers?” Gwen was flabbergasted. The woman who had raised her, not only did not know her, but was a danger to them all.

“Nope, the chair was pretty impressive, a small bonfire, but the teapot was flat out scary. She did fix my hand when I missed Linden and hit the wall instead. I broke it a little.” Sasha’s face went pink as she confessed her clumsiness.

“Truce, everyone. No one gets hit, no one grabs me and no one attacks anyone else until I know what in blazes is going on here!” Her anger grew again and predictably, a fire started. Unfortunately, the fire started on the chair Linden was sitting in. There were no few smirks as he yelped and jumped up before he could get scorched.

“Okay! That was not funny Lyra! Turn it off!” Linden grabbed pitchers of water and coffee and tossed it on the chair. It bubbled happily away consuming the chair, undeterred by the liquid. He sat on the couch jostling Sasha and Kieran.

“My name is Jen." She yelled at him. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. She focused on pulling her energy back within herself. Feeling for the stable center of her energy, she let it absorb the swirling masses of turbulence that her anger had created. She pictured the flames going out and the chair whole and perfect. When she opened them everyone was nodding in relief and happiness. “Sorry to disappoint, but I still don’t remember anything. I just used a calming technique from my studies on earth.”

Ranald wrapped his arms tighter around her and she buried her face in his shoulder again. He tried to keep her from turning back around when Gwen shouted in glee. “The chair is undamaged. This is amazing!”

“I need to get away from here. I need to get away from all of you. I have to think. All of you just stay here and I will be back in a bit.” Ranald opened his arms releasing her freely. She hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek. “Thank you. You are the only one I haven’t had to fight my way away from.”

“You cannot go out alone. You will be recognized and could be mobbed or harmed.” Ranald touched her cheek, brown eyes staring into blue.

“You and only you then. At a distance. I need to breathe and I can’t do that here.” Jen held up a hand at Linden stopping him in mid rise. “You can stay here. You get too grabby and I need space.” She paused for a moment. “Sasha, I will see you at work. I’m not coming back here. I will probably be waking up soon anyway. My new alarm practically gives me a heart attack.”

“Be careful. There are people who would still kill you as soon as look at you. We are safe here on the royal compound, but down in the city, people can be different.” Sasha rose from her husband’s lap and hugged her gently.

“If I was so great, no one should want to harm me.” Jen walked out the front door and sighed at the sound of Ranald following her. He stayed at a distance and she could only feel grateful. She walked down the pathways leading to the walls around the compound. Here and there graffiti marked the walls, but she could not read it yet.

When she reached the gate, she stopped and took a moment to look over the guards’ uniforms and weapons. Noting the disrepair of their weapons and the worn fabric of their uniforms, she knew she would have to do something about it. If she were their leader, she had to make sure those who protected her and her family were provided with the best. She nodded to them and made her way back toward one of the markets she had passed earlier. 

The trees and bushes that had seemed dead earlier had new leaves and were green with new growth. Stopping, she touched a budding lead intending to study one. She gasped in surprise as it unfurled at her touch and a flower grew as if in fast forward. Dropping the leaf, the growth halted and she backed away from it as if afraid it would come after her.

“Steady Lyra. These gardens have been dormant since you died. Plants do that when you touch them. It is one of your gifts.” Ranald squeezed her shoulder in reassurance.

Jen stiffened her back and squared her shoulders. “My name is Jen. I wish people would remember that. This is all too weird. I do wish I had that ability on earth though, I could make a lot of money with it!” She laughed shaking her head. 

They started forward again and she listened for the sounds of people. Her nose led her to the market and tantalizing scents of cooking food pulled her from stall to stall. Ranald quietly walked behind her and bartered small handmade glass beads for foods she seemed to like. By the time she got to the end of the row, he had to stop her and hand over some before he dropped it all. As she ate the finger foods, she sat on a low wall and watched the children. She believed with all her heart that people could be judged on how their children behaved. What she saw made her happy. Children yelled and ran and played, but no one got hurt beyond a skinned knee or elbow. The older children watched out for the younger, and the mothers watched over all of them.

“It’s her!” someone shouted. “She’s back! The Siren is back!” Murmurs, yells and amazed voices rang out from different parts of the market. Cringing inwardly, she smiled and waved to the those who seemed friendly. Jen found herself plucked from the wall and was hugged, pinched and swung around. Ranald pushed his way through and rescued her. Flowers were being thrown at her and she found her arms full of clothing and jewelry, baked goods and candies. Ranald steered her out of the market with promises that she would visit again.

Groaning, Jen handed off most of what she was carrying to him. “Remind me not to go places with people when I need to think again okay? That was too odd. On earth, I am nothing. People ignore me and I am almost completely invisible. Here, I seem to be some kind of wonder woman or something.”

“You are Lyra. You keep the dark away, protect us, and make sure there is always plenty. The people remember that, even if you do not.” He grunted trying to find ways to hold everything while still keeping his sword hand free. “I suggest we go back to your home and put things away before you wake up. I would hate to make two trips because you suddenly disappeared on me.”

“It’s your home too isn’t it?” At his nod, she giggled and led the way back to the manor house. Dumping the food in the kitchen, she left everything else in the hall for now. She had no idea which room was hers or what she wanted to do with everything.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4

  
  


    Jen woke with a groan and smacked her alarm clock off. Glancing at the time she groaned again and debated on whether or not to just call in sick and stay home again. She felt as if she had not slept in days and let the sapphire blue of her comforter soothe her. Calling her work she made her voice as weak as she could and threw in a few coughs for good measure as she let them know she would not be in. Jen rolled over and went back to sleep clutching an extra pillow to her stomach. Disappointed, she woke up three hours later, and knew she had stayed in her body instead of traveling.

    She dragged herself out of bed and into the shower. The creams and green shades of the room were a bit of a blur until she felt the blast from the shower head hit her. Hot water woke her up enough for her stomach to protest being empty, and she threw on some sweats to hunt down food. After her breakfast of toast and tea, she spent hours ignoring her phone and searching the internet for the oldest myths of Avalon. Using the names Avalon, Afallach and the names of the people there, she whittled down the options and settled in to read.

    It was not until Sasha had let herself in, fixed herself coffee and was sitting in front of her that she realized how late it was. Jen frowned at her friend for using the coffee table as a seat instead of the couch.

    “So, you were going to see me at work?” Sasha asked archly.

    “Sorry, I was just so tired. I couldn’t make myself get out of bed.” Jen rubbed her eyes.

    “Everyone asked about you. All I could tell them was that I had no idea where you were. I thought about calling the police after the fourth call and sixth text I sent you. Did you even glance at your phone today?” Sasha tried to keep her temper and sipped from her mug.

    “I kind of got absorbed in stuff. I’m doing searches for Avalon and other names. Oddest part is that I may have found something. See here?” Jen pointed to the screen. “It names Afallach, Lyra and a great war. She was killed and her body was never seen, never buried. Kind of like Arthur, she was taken away in secret. There is site after site about Arthur, Morgan, and whole hosts of other characters, but only one with the right name.”

    “And?” Sasha prompted.

    “And it’s all very frustrating. There are no details. Her family is never named and no one knew who was behind it. Her land was infiltrated and weakened from within. She was an absolute dictator, but she had ruled for so long that she wanted to let someone else shoulder the burden for a while. His name was Artos. He worked his way up through the different levels of her government and fooled her into thinking he was worthy. Once she handed over power, he imprisoned her and her family and brought in troops from outside. It says here that no one knew from whom he got his troops, only that a resistance movement was started to free them.” Jen tugged at her short dark hair.

    “The resistance was made up of students. Lyra, who you guys seem to think I am, and her family taught classes on healing and foresight. They got out, hid the children of her family and were captured. All of them were captured, including the students. Myth is that a few escaped and hid, multiplying their numbers in secret after what was called ‘The Great Massacre.’ The royal family, their students, and anyone else that had helped them were rounded up and beheaded one by one. The last was Lyra. She was forced to watch all that she loved destroyed before her eyes. Two children were all that were left. The site promises that Lyra will return and reveal the children, one of whom will one day rule in her place.” Jen stood up and paced trying to sort out her thoughts.

    “So my kids, Emily and Christopher were the two saved. How can they rule? They don’t have any royal blood. The only ones that would be accepted right now, would be children of Lyra. The people won’t accept anything less after the horrors of Artos and his people.” Sasha set down her mug and slipped into Jen’s place scanning the web page for more information.

    “Part of it says that there is a great secret. The seers passed down a prophesy. Those that were lost will be brought home one by one until the land is whole again. First, Linden the betrayer, then Lyra the savior. After them come Kieran the heir and his underworld bride Sashalia. Their children will be found and restored to them. Their students and supporters were marked with emerald for healing and moonstone for sight. Within fifty years, all that was lost will then be returned and all will be healed. How can I be Lyra? I am nothing! I’ve been told my entire life that I am nothing and no one. Suddenly I am this all powerful being who is meant to fix a broken land?”

    Sasha squeezed her friend’s hand trying to soothe her. “I know your past was tough, but I didn’t know it was that bad.”

    “Bullets, belts and degradation oh my.” Jen muttered darkly.

    “I wish you could remember. Lyra was great. Her power reached over continents. Countries would come from far away to trade and make alliances. People were healthy, happy and prosperous. She kept people safe and educated people as best as she could. She started schools and encouraged progress. Many advancements were made in Avalon before they were ever thought of here.”  

    Jen interrupted her friend before she could wax on too long. “She sounds like a Mary Sue to me. Deadly dull and perfect to boot. By the way, have you been taking energy from the stores like you’re supposed to?”

    “Lyra was abandoned by her mother to nursemaids, her very twin ran away and left her to the mercy of others. She fought battle after battle to prove to others that she was a worthy successor to her mother. She sacrificed love and children to make sure others could have both in safety. She was far from perfect though. She had a temper.” Sasha grinned at her famously even tempered friend. “It could be ferocious. She was as feared as she was loved. Enemies ran when they heard she was coming. Those who did wrong trembled at the thought of facing her wrath.

    ”Sounds more like me than you huh? After all I’m the one with the temper and I know I’m a bitch most of the time. Lyra was as fair as she could afford to be. She refused a monetary system, instead she kept the economy simple enough to keep to the barter system. No one ever went hungry. Even the poorest never went to sleep hungry unless they chose to.” Sasha hesitated and looked at her friend. “Yeah, I’m taking energy from multiple sources. I hate being an energy vampire, but it’s better than a blood one. If I needed blood, it would much harder to survive.”

    Jen nodded in response then scoffed. “As I said, a Mary Sue. If I read a story like that, I would throw it at the wall in disgust before I got past the prologue.”

    “Well suck it up buttercup. It’s your story whether you like it or not. You raised Gwen, you raised Kieran and you’ve known me since I was eighteen when my parents dumped me on you. You’ve been married to Linden of all people and had other lovers. You’ve had Ranald and his twin Ranulf and others over the years.” She held up a hand to stop her friend. “I’m not saying you’re a slut, but with a lifespan like yours, it’s no wonder you’ve had more than a fair few in your bed.”

    “What do you mean a life span like mine?” She shook her head, not in denial, it was just aching with so much information coming at her at once.

    “There, you are about fifty thousand years old. At least that is what the records say. You were around long before Kieran and I were.”

    “Oh Gods, I’m an old hag. Not just an old hag, but an old cougar hag! Can this get any worse?”

    “Legend says that once you return, you will fight one of your greatest battles and receive your greatest rewards.”

    “Nice, I hate when seers are so vague. It makes me want to wrap my hands around their throats and squeeze. Should we email the owner of the site? Maybe they know more.” Jen reached around Sasha and moved around on the website. She cursed under her breath as she found no contact information. “Of course! That would have made it too easy!”

    “Oh chill out. More importantly, why can’t you remember? You barely remember what happened there when you are here and you can’t remember anything other than boinking Linden and the Yummy Twins over and over. Something isn’t right. You should have remembered like the rest of us.” Sasha paused and Jen could see the wheels turning in her mind.

    “The best we can think of is that someone has spelled you. It couldn’t have been there, you went straight into that room the moment you showed up. It had to have been done here. Someone here knows who you are, who you were and is actively trying to keep you powerless.” Sasha yanked the computer mouse back out of Jen’s hand. “Someone from there is here also and is trying to make it so you can’t defend yourself or us. Linden said you had been home four years ago and had been meeting up with him until just a couple of days ago.”

    “So, how do we fix it?” Jen flopped on her couch leaving Sasha in possession of her laptop.

    “We need the boys. We have to do an old spell, but it takes four of us.” Sasha squinted at the computer screen and bit her lower lip.

    “They’re in Austria. How are they supposed to get here? Linden is a businessman who doesn’t have time for pleasure trips, plus he’s married. What is he going to tell her ‘oh sorry honey, I have to go play in America with someone I’m married to in another world?’ And Kieran is in a band. He can’t just pick up and run off. He probably can’t afford to anyway with how little musicians make now. Stupid music pirates.” Jen waved her hands for emphasis getting more and more agitated. She bit her lip and wondered at herself. Getting irritated and angry was not normal for her.

    “Linden is smart, he’ll think of something. In fact, he and Kieran know each other here. They’re pretty good friends, kind of like us. Aha!” Sasha shouted at the end in triumph. “I gave Linden your email address, but he said he already had it. He just sent you an email. Want me to read it for you? I wonder if he will get all mushy and stuff,” she teased.

    Jen blushed. “I’ll get to it later. Besides, what makes you think he would be interested in me here? I’m fat remember? I look totally different. I've only had a single guy even look at me since the divorce.”

    “You, my friend, are an idiot. I know at least five guys and two girls who have asked me if you’re dating someone. If you would only open your damn eyes, you’d see a world of possibility.” Sasha fought the urge to open the email and read what it said. “Kieran wasn’t able to remember an email address. I wish I was getting one from either of them. It makes it more real that way. Reminds me we’re not making it all up, ya know?”

    “Blah. Next time give those interested in me my number and have them call me. I think you’re full of it. Thanks for trying though. I give you points for that much. Linden is expecting a short, slender, blue eyed, coppertop. What he’s going to get here is a short, wide, green eyed, brunette. My doctor wants to put me on these new diet pills or have gastric bypass done. I fought really hard not to tell him where to shove either suggestion.” Jen fidgeted with her hair. “If they are coming, we should do a girl’s spa day with makeovers and stuff to get ready. Linden may be taken, but Kieran isn’t.” She grinned at Sasha’s discomfort.

    “I’m not moving to Austria, you’re not moving to Austria and they aren’t moving here. Besides, I have a boyfriend remember? We’re practically married.” Sasha refused to meet her friend’s eyes.

    “Yeah, yeah, yeah. If Kieran asks you to go with him, don’t think twice, just go. You love him, he loves you it’s a freaking Barney song.” Jen sang mockingly.

    “I don’t know what I would do without your sweet sappy advice there Jen. Do you have a romantic bone left in your body or did Scott kill it all?” Sasha swung on the defensive and lashed out.

    “Hmmm, well I do believe he took that with him like most of my furniture, most of my inheritance, my car, and my dignity.” Jen propped her feet up on the coffee table. “Oh just go home, have darth vegan stuff you full with his latest meatless recipe. I will eat my frozen diet dinner. I’ll let you know what Linden has to say once I’ve read it.”

    “Fine!” Sasha huffed while getting into her coat. “There is nothing wrong with being vegan. It actually tastes pretty good if you don’t think about it too much.”

    “Yes, but tofu upsets my stomach. Give me a nice steak any day. With a nice big baked potato and real butter.” Jen smirked, she knew she had hit her friend’s weak points when Sasha’s nose went up in the air.

    “You are going to die before you’re fifty if you keep eating like that.” Sasha announced haughtily.

    “Nah, I’m from good strong farming stock. Everyone in my family ate this way and most of them lived to bedevil everyone into their eighties and nineties. The only ones that died young were from car accidents or a bank robbery like my parents.” Jen stuck her tongue out as Sasha sailed past her and couldn’t resist giggling at the disgusted look on her face.

    “Well, not all of us are as lucky. _I_ have to watch what I eat. Too many heart attacks in my family.” Sasha paused with her hand on the door. “Are you sure you want to stay here alone? You know you’re welcome to come home with me.”

    “I’m fine, I’ll be at work in the morning and if I’m lucky I’ll see you in Avalon tonight.” Jen waved her off and made sure her car started before closing and locking her door.

    Jen ignored the email most of the night by keeping herself busy. Turning away from her research, she finally picked up her phone. Ten missed calls and twenty texts showed on her screen. Between her brother, Sasha, and her boss, it took almost a half an hour to get through everything. The message from her boss made her panic level rise. If she did not show up for work in the morning, she was fired. She took a deep breath to calm herself and fight the panic back down. Once she finished her current class from her online college, she could fire her boss. The thought made her smile. Her boss held anything over her. Misspell a word and she was written up for insubordination. Forget a word in a report and get put on final notice for dereliction of duty. She had kept copies of her reports and her corrective actions. Starting school was her way of thumbing her nose at her boss and turning the tables.

    “One more week until graduation. Two more weeks until I get a promotion above her as her boss. Too bad she didn’t pay attention to what her workers were doing and openings available in management.” Jen muttered to herself.

    She downed half a pint of cookie dough ice cream while watching mindless television. Just as she was sliding towards becoming a complete vegetable, she pulled up her laptop and went through her final paper again. Editing the document for the fifth time, she submitted it by email to her teacher.

    The phone ringing next to her made her jump and curse as her ice cream and spoon went flying.

    “Hello?” Not recognizing the number, she was hesitant to say much.

    “Jen?” A male voice came from the speaker.

    “Yeah, who is this?” Jen started to get angry. “What do you want?”

    “I’d like you to read your email, my love.” Michael sighed. “It’s Michael. We’re headed for Seattle and I can’t stay on the line for long. Please, just read your email.”

    Jen was about to answer when the line went dead. Taking a deep breath, she put down her phone. She gathered her courage and opened her email.

 

_Jen,_

 

_I could fill this with nonsense. I could tell you how much I love you and wish I could make up for everything I have done wrong. Instead, I will tell you that Val (Kieran) and I will be landing in Seattle at seven in the morning your time. I am actually writing this from my plane’s wifi system. After you left, Kieran and I discussed what to do about your memory issue. Gwen produced a book that you had put together long ago. If the spell used on you is one that was in your book, we know how to counter it. Be careful my love, it seems the war is not yet over and you are in danger. They will not kill you, but they could take you and try to use you. I hope that you will meet us at the airport. Even though we have a private plane, we will be at baggage claim. We will wait until eight in the morning to see if you and Sasha will show up. If not, I will send another email with where we are staying and leave your name at the front desk of the hotel we stay at._

 

_I did not lie to anyone to take this trip. I informed everyone that an old friend of mine and Val’s was in trouble and needed help. I hope you both come. I could use one of your legendary hugs._

 

_All my love,_

_Michael_

 

    Her eyes widened in shock. She quickly checked the clock and winced. It was three in the morning. School work had taken longer than she had expected. After she sent a text to Sasha, she smirked. It was only three words; airport seven am.

    Shuddering at how little sleep she was going to get, she set her alarm for five thirty. A short nap would have to do, she did not have enough time for anything else.

    Sasha jumping on her bed at five in the morning did not help her temper. “Why are we going to the airport?” She demanded once she saw Jen’s eyes were part way open.

    Jen glared at her and then smirked. Jeans and a band t-shirt were going to be the last thing that Sasha wanted to meet Kieran in here. It was a t-shirt from Val’s band, but honestly, the outfit was unflattering. It made her feel slightly better to know how Sasha was going to react.

    “We need to call out of work. All I know is that we have to pick something up at the airport between seven and eight this morning. The email was a bit vague.” Jen rolled out of bed and took a quick shower. “Get some coffee for you and some tea for me would you? I was working on my final paper for class until three this morning.”

    Sasha stomped off and Jen giggled a bit as she slipped into one of her nicer sweater sets and put on eye makeup and lip gloss. Hiding a grin, she grabbed a granola bar and her mug of tea. She finished both quickly and deftly pinned her hair up into a quick french twist. Her only jewelry was her pentacle ring that she never went without.

    “A bit fancy aren’t you? We’re just picking something up, it’s not like we’re going for a job interview.” Sasha downed her second cup of coffee and microwaved a breakfast sandwich for herself.

    “We need to leave here by six if we are going to park and get where we need to go in time.” Collecting her purse and coat, she checked her black running shoes to make sure they went with her outfit.

    “You are hiding something! What was in that email?” Sasha grabbed another mug of coffee for the road.

    “Wait and see.” Jen taunted her.

    The ride to Seattle Tacoma International airport was spent in silence. Jen refused to answer any more questions and Sasha sulked instead of turning on music. It was hard not to giggle at her idea of her friend’s reaction to finally meeting Val in person.

    Sasha had waxed poetic about his looks and playing for years. She followed news about him online and planned a trip to Austria as soon as she could save enough up.

    Jen took her parking stub and placed it in her windshield. They made their way across the sky bridge and Sasha led the way to baggage claim.

    Sasha sat with a petulant look in one of the waiting chairs watching luggage rotate on the conveyor belts. Seven o’clock rolled around and seven thirty came and went. When she stalked off to go find more coffee, Jen grinned and pulled out a sign with both guys’ names on it.

    Michael spotted the sign and smiled. He had been looking in the wrong area of the baggage claim. Straightening his tie, he buttoned the suit jacket he had pulled on while exiting his plane. Michael pulled his garment bag over his shoulder and tugged his suitcase to roll behind him. Motioning Val over, he pointed at Jen patiently waiting for them. Val laughed and gathered his guitar case and his duffle bag.

    Val handed his things off to Michael and scooped Jen up in a bear hug. His heart was filled with joy as he heard her breathless giggle. “Put me down you brat! What would Sasha think if she saw this!” Jen hugged him tighter for a moment and let him go. She studied him and realized except for the lack of hair products, he really did dress in jeans and t-shirts all the time. Val’s trademark converse shoes conformed to his rather large feet.

    “Speaking of Sasha, where is she?” Val struggled a little with the words. He had learned English, but it had been a long time since he had used it.

    “Where else?” Jen smirked.

    “Off getting coffee.” They said together.

    “I hope you two don’t mind, I didn’t tell her what was going on. I kept her in the dark to make this a surprise.” Jen winked at Val and grinned at his laugh.

    “You are evil. No wonder we all love you.” Val looked up just in time to see Sasha stop dead in her tracks. The look of horror and shock on her face was funny enough that he had to sit down or fall over.

    Sasha stormed over to the waiting group. Jen took both cups of hot liquid away from the woman before they got tossed on her. “They’re here and you let me come looking like this? I hate you!” She held her hand out to Val and squeaked when he pulled her down into his lap. Jen averted her eyes when the two inevitably started kissing.

    Jen grimaced and found a place to set down the drinks before facing Michael. Taking the hand he offered, she let him pull her into his arms. She rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes in relief. The familiar sound of his heart calmed her and let her drift a bit before pulling herself back to reality.

    “Now, I’m not taking no for an answer. I have four bedrooms at my house and you will stay with me. My ritual room is off limits. You and Val are welcome to stay as long as you want. We can pick up some groceries later today after everyone gets a nap.” Jen kicked Sasha in the calf. “Breathe dammit, you have a boyfriend remember?”

    “My assistant came with us and so did Johan, another member of Val’s band.” Michael reluctantly pulled away from Jen and smiled down at her.

    “Well, I have a couch, and three bedrooms besides my room so we have enough sleeping places. You guys get to pony up for food though. I know you guys all have to be walking stomachs.” Jen stepped away from Michael and looked behind him. Johan had arrived as had Michael’s assistant. “Welcome Johan.” She smiled as he bowed to her. His dark brown eyes took her in and he nodded. Six inch spikes of dark hair tilted towards her and caused her to take a step back. His nose was hooked in a such a way that could only be called a roman nose. It detracted from an otherwise sweetly rounded face.

    Jen held her hand out to Michael’s assistant. Light golden eyes raked over her and he grinned at her showing slightly crooked, but white teeth. His hair was so short she could see his scalp, but his nose stole her attention with a flattened space indicating it had been broken more than once.

“My name is Stefan.” He took her hand, turned it over and kissed it before bringing it to his forehead. A grin bloomed on Stefan’s face as she stuttered in shock.

    “Someone else recently greeted me in the same way. Please forgive my shock.” Jen searched his eyes and found the humor there. “Ranulf!” She threw her arms around his neck and felt him laugh and swing her around. “Your hair is so different! What is with the suit?”

    “I did not think you would remember my lady. Michael said you are missing your memories of all of us.” Stefan kissed her soundly smudging her lip gloss.

    Once he released her, Jen staggered a bit before regaining her balance. “Only you and Ranald used that form of respect. I remembered when he used it the night before last." Michael gave the other man an unfriendly look as he steadied Jen.  “Don’t start again Michael, or I will banish you and let everyone else stay with me.” She slapped Sasha on the shoulder and sat down in a seat next to them to keep from touching Stefan or Michael. “Remember your manners.” Sasha glared at Jen and greeted the other three men politely. “Since you were too busy having a teenage make out session with Val, you missed the fact that Stefan is Ranulf.”

    “Too many of us to fit in your sedan Jen. How are we going to get everyone there?” Sasha eyed Stefan and Johan analyzing their threat level.

    “If I might, we were unsure if you would show up this morning. We have a limo waiting for us to take us wherever we wish.” Stefan smiled at Sasha’s sudden delight. She was obviously thinking of other uses for the limo than just transportation. “You do not change, do you Sashalia?”

    Sasha glared at him. “Hush you. Or you get to ride with Jen in the sedan.”

    “Okay, okay, I can fit four in my car. Who wants to come with me voluntarily? I’m sure mister business there would rather be in the limo, and I know Sasha has dreamed about making out with Val in the back of a limo. That leaves Stefan and Johan.” Jen looked at the two men in question.

    “I would be honored to ride with you.” Stefan answered. He straightened his suit jacket and tugged lightly at his tie.

    “I will stay with Val. Being with those I do not know makes me more uncomfortable than seeing Val kissing a woman.” Johan’s jeans were worn at the knees and showed even more when he knelt down to manage his luggage. He was the only anomaly in the group. The guys were all over six foot except for him. Jen finally had someone close enough to her height that she did not feel dwarfed.

    “Whatever will make you more comfortable Johan. Since Sasha is going with you, she can give the driver the address. Will all of your luggage fit in the limo trunk, or do we need to fit some in my car?” Ignoring Michael’s look, Jen waited for Stefan to answer. As the assistant, it really was his job to manage luggage and transportation.

    “Luggage should not be a problem. It should all fit in the limo. It has before.” Stefan grinned at his employer’s discomfort. Michael had not known he was was Ranulf. This was just as much of a shock to him and Val as it was to Jen.

    “Well grab your gear Stefan, we have some things to fix before the rest get there.” She grabbed his hand and giggled as he scrambled for his rolling suitcase and to keep up with her at the same time.

    “Are you not going to see us off Jen?” Michael’s tone was petulant. His reunion with her was ruined as far as he was considered. He should have left Stefan at home.

    She leaned up on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. She grinned at him when he growled and tried to turn his head for more. “Not if you want sheets and stuff on the bed you’re going to be sleeping in.”

    She heard him mutter about her bed, but chose to ignore it as she tugged Stefan along towards her car.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 5

  
  
  


Spotting her little blue sedan, Jen hurried to get to the safety of its interior. She unlocked the car and watched as Stefan put his bag in the back seat. He stepped back and she threw herself at him. He crushed her to him and kissed her as if trying to drink her in. Jen clutched his shoulders as he pushed her up against her car. Fighting back her hormones, she tried to push him away.  

“Enough, enough, we have to get back to the house before they do. I don’t feel like getting arrested today or getting you fired. Michael wouldn’t be happy with you if he caught us like this.” She whimpered as he slowly let her slide down the front of him and rested her forehead against his chest. “Oh Gods, I wish I had made them all stay in a hotel.” Jen muttered breathlessly.

Stefan laughed hoarsely. “Ich wünsche. I wish also.” He shook his head trying to regain his use of English.

She giggled a bit before stumbling to the driver’s side door. They settled into the dark gray seats and Jen fought to keep her hands from touching him. Pulling out of the parking garage, she maneuvered her way towards the freeway. She followed the signs to I-5 south and headed towards Tacoma. After driving for almost thirty minutes, they pulled up to her two story home. Jen bolted from the car and ran up the flagstone path to the porch and left him to follow. Unlocking the door, she disappeared inside.

Stefan watched her move and shook his head in bemusement. She was as beautiful here as she was in the other world and he wanted her badly. He hauled his case into the house and found her armed with an armful of linens. He took a set and headed off to a random bedroom. In minutes they had the beds in order and had turned her mp3 player to her Painted playlist. She put her player into the docking station and the music poured through the house. She took a few minutes to try and fix her make up and was very aware of Stefan when he entered her room.

“You remember more than you think. This is almost like your room before. Your bed and linens, your art, it is amazing.” He sat on the end of her bed and smiled at the stuffed dog hidden among the pillows. “Ranald says hello. He is glad that we are all together.” His eyes roamed over the decorations on the wall. Pictures of her parents and her brother took up the wall near the door. Painted folding hand fans took up the rest of the wall space. He grinned at the fans in their color groupings and elaborate patterns on the walls.

“Huh? You can hear him when you’re here?” As she peeked around the corner from the bathroom, Stefan could see Jen had removed her makeup and had let down her hair. Every thought dissolved in his mind at the sight of her. 

“We are twins. When Michael went back there and returned, memories started reawakening. Then, when you kissed Ranald, I was able to reconnect to him. I can share my thoughts with him.” He watched her sort through her closet and noticed her discomfort at his presence as she snatched a t-shirt and ran back into the bathroom. When she emerged from the bathroom, he pulled her into his arms to try and reassure her. Her body language plainly showed discomfort, but he ignored it and pulled her into his arms when she reappeared. Resting his chin on the top of her head, he smiled. “Do not worry Jen. We will all manage just fine.”

Jen heard Sasha’s voice down the hall telling everyone where they would sleep. Releasing her before she started to pull away, Stefan felt rewarded with her sunny smile. He trailed along behind her to help organize the situation.

Michael took in her changed appearance and shrugged. Stefan silently arranged the luggage and took over organizing sleeping spaces. Jen turned on her computer. “Sorry everyone, I am waiting on the results of a paper I submitted this morning. Here in a bit, we can all go out for some lunch, but first I have to make sure everything is completed or I am in a bit of trouble." 

    A massive yawn hit her and she had to wait to continue. “See my boss is an absolute jerk and I figured the best revenge would be to finish my schooling and become her boss. I just submitted my final paper in my final class before graduation. I could blow off work today because in two weeks I get promoted and my vacation starts tomorrow anyway.”

“A little ambitious huh? Why didn’t you tell me any of this?” Sasha was on the couch in Val’s lap.

“I did, it got drowned out in your rant about darth vegan and how he bought a camera instead of doing something for your birthday. I figured it wasn’t important enough.”  She nodded and smiled at seeing her paper had been accepted. She set her computer aside. “We have a couple of hours before anything but the roadside cafes’ are open. Do you want to wait, or go to the store and get stuff for breakfast?” Her whole body tensed up as another yawn hit her. Her three hours of sleep came back to hit her in the face. “Strike that, I’m getting a nap. Sasha has a car and you guys can hit the store. I’m going back to bed.”

Sasha jumped up and dragged Michael and Val out of the house. “We will get munchables, never fear. Just get some sleep and we’ll be back before too long. Maybe I can stuff these bottomless pits with enough food that you can join us for lunch this afternoon.” She could hear Michael complaining all the way to the car and Johan disappeared upstairs into the room assigned to him.

“Care to snuggle a bit Stefan?” As she walked to the bedroom without looking back, she was unsurprised to hear him walking down the hall after her. Jen slid into bed and burrowed deep into the covers. He laid himself on the bed on top of her sapphire comforter. She rolled over and relaxed when he threw his arm over her and pulled her back against him. Her last thought was of love.

 

******

 

She woke and stretched gingerly afraid to wake Stefan up. To her surprise she was in a much larger bed. Ranulf and Ranald were on each side of her snuggled against her under the blankets. She made a meep sound and jerked up. Identical masculine laughter echoed on each side of her.

“Thanks boys, was this give Jen a heart attack day?” Ranald touched her cheek and she could not help but purr as Ranulf ran a finger down her spine.

“We had other parts of you we wanted to stimulate. Should we demonstrate?” Ranald softly kissed her into silence. She yielded to him and let herself just enjoy the moment. Warning bells started to go off in her head as Ranulf disappeared.

“I have to wake up, how do I get back to my body? He was asleep next to me and Michael went to go shopping. He may be back and unhappy. I can’t be the cause of Michael firing Ranulf.” She looked deeply into Ranald’s eyes and felt tears start to gather in hers. “I love you both too much to bring any unhappiness.”

“Close your eyes, center yourself and feel your body around you. If there is a problem, the sound of voices should bring out of sleep.” He kissed her again. “Until tonight my love.”

 

******

 

She gasped as she jerked upright in bed. The sound of Michael and Stefan arguing annoyed her and she realized the bed was cold. “What the hell?” She shouted just loudly enough to get their attention.

“I fell asleep next to you on the bed. When they got back, Michael insisted that I vacate my spot for him.” Stefan sat back down on the bed and crossed his arms over his chest. His hair was flattened from the pillow, she wanted to run her fingers through it and feel its soft spikes.

“Since the moment we arrived, I have not even been given a chance to kiss you. You kissed Stefan and have spent every moment since then with him. Do I not get equal time?” Michael leaned against the door jamb, his tone very defensive.

“Michael, please come and sit on the bed.” She patted a spot on the other side of her from Stefan. His movements were jerky as he complied. She rubbed her eyes and stifled a yawn. “Are you married Michael?”

“Yes, what does that have anything to do with this?” He tried to reach out and brush her hair back. He frowned when she leaned back away from him.

“Stefan, are you married?” She turned to face him, smiling gently.

“No, I have no wife, no girlfriend, no lover.” Stefan restrained himself from touching her. He tried to rein himself in and be a gentleman.

“Michael, are you going to leave your wife? Would your wife share you?” Jen turned back to Michael and waited quietly for an answer.

“I can not leave her. I have a child with her and I still love her.” Michael’s face started to turn red as his blood pressure started to rise. “I do not know if she would be open to an open relationship.”

“What did you expect? You would come here and I would fall into your arms and forget that you had made promises to someone else here?” Jen looked down at his left hand and saw that he was not wearing his wedding ring. “You have made a promise to a lovely woman. I looked her up. One of these days I will tell you what my ex-husband did to me. All I will say right now is; I will not do to someone else that which was done to me.” 

    Reaching out to him, she touched his hand gently. “I will stand as your friend here. Hugs and snuggles? Oh most definitely, but I will not be the other woman and help you cheat on her.”

“What if I got her on the phone and got her permission?” Michael clenched his fists, he realized he had not quite thought this through all the way. He was chagrined to know that she had worked this all out not only on two hours of sleep, but within a couple of hours of his arrival.

“I would have to meet her in person. I would have to look into her eyes and know that she understood what that would mean. You unknowingly hired Ranulf as your assistant. I am bonded to him and his twin in Avalon. I am bonded to you in Avalon. There, I can be with all three of you with a joyful heart. Love deserves to be joyful, not shameful. Maybe if things had been different and we were all in Austria, your wife was okay with it. If everyone was willing to share, it would be different, but here and now, we can only be friends.”  Jen smiled at him silently willing him to see her point of view.

He looked at Stefan. “Would you be willing to share?”

“I would share her as long as the sharing was good. If things were as she said, whom she shared herself with in joy and love would be fine with me. It always has been fine with me.” Stefan ran a light finger over her hand. “She is her own woman. I respect you and you have earned that respect. The stumbling blocks remain your wife and that we are in the United States and not Austria.”

“Sex was not why I invited you to stay with me. The more people here, the safer I am. You came here because of my lack of memory. I am vulnerable and someone in this world knows who and what I am.” She paused for a moment. “Now, did everyone get some food? I’m starving!”

Both men laughed as she hopped out of bed and headed for the kitchen. The smell of toaster waffles met her nose and her stomach growled ferociously. Her cheeks went pink as she blushed. She heard the guys laugh again and grabbed the two waffles as they popped up. She ignored them as she used peanut butter and syrup on them. They did not last long and she was looking for something else to appease the rumbling in her stomach. She caught sight of the clock and realized it was time for lunch.

“Hey, we should find somewhere to get real food. There is a great burger joint not too far from here. Anyone up for it?” She jumped up and grabbed her purse and car keys. Quiet bickering commenced over who would sit in the front seat, but predictably Val and Johan went in the car with Sasha and Michael and Stefan with her. Michael claimed the front seat.

“You had the chance to ride in the front and alone with her, my turn.” He grinned at the other man.

“Children, you both can sit in the back if you don’t play nicely.” She teased them both.

Grumbling was barely heard as they took their places. They were well behaved until they arrived, then the whining started. “I do not know what they serve. I do not know if I will like food here.” Michael complained quietly.

“Read the menu and buck up. It’s not just about you buttercup.” She fought down a giggle at the look on Michael’s face upon being called buttercup. Stefan was not so lucky. He chuckled and then ducked his head when his employer shot a killing look at him.

Johan was waiting for them at the door. “We have a table. Sasha pushed them to seat us.” He waited for them to pass him and then slipped around them leading the way.

Jen made sure to sit between Val and Johan to avoid jealousy. She helped them both with some of the written english. After a few minutes, everyone was able to find something they could eat. She and Sasha asked as many questions about Austria and their lives as possible to keep them talking about themselves. By the time the food arrived, even Johan had opened up and warmed up a bit. They shared food around sampling bites of everyone else’s dishes. By the time lunch was over, they felt more like a group than a bunch of strangers.

Frustratingly Jen still had no more memories than she did before, but she knew they would come in time. When she was distracted by a story Val was telling, Michael slipped the waitress his credit card to cover the group.

The plates were cleaned and empty bellies were finally full when she asked about the bill. “Should we split it? I know you claimed this as a business trip, but Sasha and I can pay for ourselves.”

“It is taken care of. Is everyone ready? I would like to investigate Jen’s house. If someone had spelled her, they would have had to do it at her home. Maybe there is something in the ground or in her house that is keeping her spelled.” Michael stood and moved Jen’s chair out so she could rise.

“Smart idea, can you guys do that while I catch another nap? I am still exhausted and my nap was interrupted by male posturing.” She stuck her tongue out at Michael and giggled as he crossed his eyes at her in return.

“I think we can be quiet enough, can we not?” The others nodded and Jen sighed in relief.

“I’m sorry, I really do not do well on little sleep. Especially when there is testosterone involved.” She winked at Stefan and grinned as he cleared his throat. “Everyone has their plans. Sasha, you should probably go home and pack a bag. Tell John that I’m having some emotional stuff going on and I need you or something. Unless you want to go home every night for dinner and sleep.”

“Actually, I am going to break up with him. Val and I discussed things and I am going to move back to Austria with him. We’re going to get married. I don’t want to waste any more time than we already have.” Sasha was glowing with happiness. Jen felt a stab in her heart, but she covered it and only showed happiness for her friend. She pulled Sasha away a bit and tried to get out of earshot of the guys.

“Well, have fun, I’m sure Michael can haul your stuff internationally on his jet. You’ll have to sell your car though.” Sasha stopped for a moment and then realized that Jen was not talking about going with her.

“You’re coming too, right? I mean between Michael and Stefan, you are coming with me.”

“No, I am staying here. Michael has his wife and Stefan has a girl there that loves him, even if he can’t see it yet.” She hugged her friend tightly. “I have no place there, you do.”

“It’s not fair. You should get a happily ever after too. Well, we’ll just see about that. I’m not leaving you here alone with Gods knows who is after you. It’s just not happening.” Sasha dragged her back to the group.

She leaned in and whispered in Sasha’s ear. “Life isn’t fair. We learn to take what is given and deal with it.”


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 6

  
  
  


Jen groaned and rolled over, or at least she tried to. Sandwiched between two men once again, she opened her eyes just long enough to know it was Ranald and Kieran. She quickly burrowed back under the covers and hid from the light. Her head hurt and she felt sick. When she had gone to sleep, she had been fine, but now she was baffled by her symptoms. There had been no alcohol in her house, but it felt very close to a hangover, a very bad hangover. 

    Jen flailed her way out of the covers and raced to the bathroom. After retching for a few moments, she felt hands gently pull her hair back and hold it for her.

She felt a cool wet rag being applied to her forehead and cheeks. Getting the nausea under control she curled in the fetal position on the bathroom floor and just whimpered quietly. “Jen? Why are you sick?” Kieran asked softly.

“If I knew why, do you think I wouldn’t fix it? This isn’t much fun, I can tell you that.” Jen grabbed the wet cloth from his hands and put it over her eyes blocking out the light again. “I feel hungover. We got back from lunch and I went to sleep. I didn’t wake up there yet, I just woke up here.”

“I took a nap also. Sasha is rallying the troops to figure out dinner and of course how to deal with her life and boyfriend.” He retrieved another wet cloth and traded it out for the one that had warmed. “This only happens when you are here right?” At her weak nod he hummed in the back of his throat. 

    “You have not had sex with anyone right?” She shook her head slightly and groaned. “Well, you could not be pregnant. I think it has something to do with the memory issues.”

“Thanks Sherlock, I think I already figured that part out. The more I end up here, the worse it gets. I’m hoping Michael and Stefan will find something to end this.” She groaned and tried to retch again as he picked her up and laid her back in bed. He brought over a basin and a pitcher of water. He fed her small sips of water and stroked her hair lightly until she fell back asleep.

When she woke again, she was in her body. The bed was empty and the sun was just setting. She could smell spices and chicken and assumed that Sasha had made fajitas for everyone. She was relieved by the lack of nausea and relaxed back against her pillows. 

    Jen rested her eyes enjoying the happy sounds of a full house. She felt someone climb onto the bed trying to be stealthy. She jumped a little when they nuzzled her cheek, sniffing quietly, she knew it was Stefan without even opening her eyes. 

“Time to get up my sweet, Sasha has made enough food for an army.” He laughed and instead of pulling her to her feet, he pulled her over his shoulder and carried her down the hall.

“Knock it off Stefan, I’m too fat for this.” She tried to yell at him, but it was hard with her head hanging down along his back and her stomach in his shoulder.

He smacked her rear hard. “I never want to hear you say that again. You are beautiful, otherwise I would not be making a fool out of myself every time I see you.” He smacked her again for good measure before adding, “we found a crystal buried in your flower garden. It had different energy than yours so we brought it in to be analyzed.”

“Well, let me down, stupid! I can do something while you all are demolishing dinner.” She kicked and almost threw him off balance.

“No, you are eating, then we are all going to take a look at it together. Ranald told me you were ill when you were there. You need food and you need help when dealing with this... thing.” He gently set her on her feet in the kitchen and handed her a plate. He hovered over her and made sure she had a decent sized amount of food before getting his own. When his back was turned, she ditched her plate and headed for the crystal.

“Did anyone find an energy trail, or did they cover their tracks too well?” She reached out to pick it up and hissed when Michael slapped her hand away.

“No energy trail. Stefan found it with dowsing rods.” He smacked her hand again and she shot him an evil glare.

“My house, my rules, you bitch, you’ll bruise.” Her hand closed around the crystal and she immediately regretted it. Stomach pain and cramps made her double over and she dropped to the floor writhing. Michael ripped the crystal out of her hand and tossed it across the room. When removing it from her did not stop the agony she was in, he yelled for Sasha.

“I could’ve told you she’d do that.” Sasha picked up the rock, took one look at her friend and tossed it into the fireplace. Keeping an eye on her friend, she was relieved when it seemed the pain had faded.

    Jen laid on the floor waiting for the pain to come back. Trying to calm her breathing, she turned on her side and curled up. She watched the flames envelop the rock. 

    “Next time Jen, don’t be an idiot. I can’t leave you alone for a single minute.” Sasha sat in Jen’s recliner and ate her dinner.

“I thought it only affected me in Avalon. I thought it would be safer here. I was wrong, I’m sorry.” She tried to breathe deeply as she apologized.

“Do you remember anything yet?” Sasha retrieved Jen’s plate and drink. She sat down on the floor next to her friend and sighed as Jen leaned her head against her leg.

“Nothing, but I don’t feel sick any more,” Jen whimpered.

“You may have just ruined our only chance to find out what the spell was and who did it.” Sasha snapped at her.

Stefan helped her up and pulled her onto the couch with him. He pulled her sideways across his lap and held her tightly. “If you want us to help, you have to listen to us as much as we have to listen to you. We are all in this together mein herz.”

“I’m sorry.” Jen said quietly. “I didn’t think. Will the caster’s energy survive the fire?” She relaxed into Stefan’s embrace and tried to not think about the food waiting for her on the table.

“No.” Sasha replied around bites of her own meal.

“What does 'mein herz' mean Stefan?” Jen wiggled a bit in his lap to distract him.

“It means my heart. You are my heart, just as you always have been.” He brushed his lips over hers until he heard a quiet growl from Michael.

Jen did not bother to look at Michael before she spoke. “Okay I am going to say this once more. I do not deal with jealousy. If you can’t meet my terms Michael, you miss out. Do not take it out on Stefan because I have morals.” She turned to look at him. “If you can’t deal, I will kick your butt out and make you stay in a hotel.”

“I want us all to go to Austria. We found what was buried here. We can figure everything out there and keep you better protected.” Michael chose to ignore her threat and push on with his agenda. Stefan started to protest. “I told you that there could be another-” he cut off when Michael waved a hand at him.

“I checked it all out when I was interviewing for my new position at my company. I would have to apply for a work permit and have all the documents." She held up a hand silencing Michael. “I have them all, including the application form in German, the residence registration form and my financial statements all organized. I have all my passports and my present one. I have a statement of health and a police clearance certificate. My new position at my company makes you travel so I already had to get organized. They were talking about sending me in the next six months to Salzburg for a year.  I decided to get everything ahead of time. I have extra passport photos from my renewal, my certified birth certificate. However, I would have to leave everything here, sell my car and my house and leave my family. Why would I want to do that?” She spouted off the requirements and reached for her soda on the table. She laughed at the look of shock on his face.

“If you want, I could find a position for you at one of my companies. I have connections. I’m sure that between myself, my company and my secretaries we can keep you busy, employed and in residence there for however long you want.” Michael waved his hand dismissing her concerns.

“And my family? My home? My life? I do have another job starting in two weeks. Yes, I have my degree, or I will soon, but I have a life. I can’t just pick up and leave.” Jen slowly sipped from her soda letting it settle her stomach.

“I’m leaving everything too Jen.” Sasha added in a small voice.

“It’s different for you Sasha. Your family is in Nebraska. You have a few friends at work, but most of the things you have in your life belong to your boyfriend. Your car, your home, all those big things are his.” She tucked herself more securely to Stefan’s side.

“You don’t have to decide anything yet. Come for a visit. You can stay for a month or two. You can help Sasha settle in and then come back. My jet is available if you need to come back and I’m sure your brother can keep an eye on things here for you.” Michael smiled at her. “You know you want to see where I come from. You love to travel. I can even help you with money if needed while you are away.”

“Sasha has yet to end her relationship and leave her boyfriend. I will consider it. I have savings enough that I don’t have to work for a year or so if I don’t want to. Ninety days is the longest I can be there as a tourist. If I decide on employment, I have to come back here and apply for a residence permit and a job permit. If I get married then I show proof of marriage and apply for a residence permit. I know it sounds cold, but I have responsibilities and have to think about the future.” She winced as Stefan hugged her tightly.

“Just for a few weeks, please Jen. Come with us and let us show you our world. You can meet Michael’s wife. We can drag you all over Vienna and even take you around the rest of Europe.” He kissed her again. “Please Jen. Let us take care of you for a bit, let us protect you.”

“I’ll think about it.” She pushed away from Stefan, grabbed her plate and walked away to her room for the quiet and space to think.

She only got a few minutes of it before Sasha tapped on the door and let herself in. “Jen, can I please come in?”

Jen sighed and set her untouched food aside. “Yeah, I guess.”

“The guys are afraid they did something wrong. I didn’t explain anything, I felt it should come from you. They come from families that revere women and support and protect them. Don’t let Scott take this from you. We were going to go in a few years anyway, why not seize the chance and go now? No commercial flight, no hotels and brawny, brainy guys at our beck and call. Well, and our beds too if we wanted. What is wrong with it?”

“I uprooted my life for Scott. I left everything and everyone in it for him. I loved him with all my heart. It was bad enough being on the east coast when everything went wrong, how can I take the chance of everything going wrong in another country?” She hugged her stuffed dog to her chest. 

    “Michael wants me as a lover, but not a wife. Stefan wants me as a lover and I think would marry me to keep me there with him, but when I touched him, I saw another woman. One of the secretaries in Michael’s headquarters is in love with him. She is his destiny here. No matter how much either of them loves me or wants me, that is not a good reason for me to run off to a foreign country with two men I have just met.” She shook her head at Sasha and then continued. 

    “Yes, I have memories of them, but those are of another world. They seem to be the same men here that they are there, but my judgment of men is seriously skewed. Just because someone is good in one world, it doesn’t always follow that they are the same in the other. If you get the happily ever after you have always dreamed of, I am thrilled. I don’t expect the same for myself.”

“Well you should!” Sasha exploded. “You deserve to be happy. After all the crap you’ve been through, you deserve to be loved and cherished and protected! Just because a woman is in love with Stefan doesn’t make her his destiny. I think he would argue that with you. We choose our own paths. We choose who we keep and who we let go. I won’t move there without you.” She sat beside Jen on the bed and wrapped her arm around the shorter woman. “I can’t leave you behind. You are my sister, don’t make me have Michael do something desperate to get your cooperation.”

Jen leaned her head against Sasha’s shoulder. The thought of Sasha not being there every day left a hole in her heart. “That is why you make such a bad witch sweetie. There are things the Gods have planned. Sometimes interfering in those things can cause harm. Do no harm right?”

“Oh screw that. Inaction can cause just as much harm if you want to look at it that way. What if destiny is that you work for Michael and meet someone wonderful over there that you are meant for? If you stay here not only are there idiots here after you, but you will keep working for the same company day after day while your heart and soul slowly die. I won’t stand for it!” Jen looked on in amusement as Sasha paced the bedroom. She had done it so many times that Jen was about to have to replace the carpet there. Sasha was not a quiet soul or a physically inactive one. She thought best on her feet and watching her try to work out her strategies had provided plenty of amusement through the years. “I gave Michael your resume.”

“Why?” Jen gave a long suffering sigh.

“Because he really does need someone like you in his organization. He wants you to be a partner. Sharing work equally will make it easier for him to get away and it keeps you close. You have the background, now you have the degree. You are a strong woman and highly organized. You’re smart and you don’t stop until something is completed. He said he can deal with the immigration issues, he has an entire department for it. He has businesses in Austria, Italy, England, Iceland, Norway and other places. He was thinking of taking on a partner, but no one in his company has the right qualifications.” Sasha sat cross legged on the floor looking like the cat that swallowed the cream.

“I don’t have the skills or knowledge to be his partner. Have you thought about maybe I don’t want to do this? I have my own home, no mortgage, a management position with our company and I’m on my way to climbing the ladder there. I speak the language, I was raised here and I know this area. You want me to move to a completely different culture and country. Am I supposed to turn my house over to my brother, let him destroy it, wreck my car and sell my stuff to support his habits? Or should I let my cousin manage it? The one who tried to destroy me?” Jen shook in reaction to the intense emotions swimming through her mind.

“No, we get a company to watch over it. There are some that for a small fee, will watch over your house and make sure that everything is still here when you get back. Michael said one of the perks of this job is a three month vacation every year and use of the company jet. You could come back at times through the year, see everyone and make sure your stuff is okay. Eventually he wants to open offices in Seattle. If you put in the work and really want to, he may put you in charge of them. You would be an asset to him. He needs you professionally and yes, even personally.” She paused for a moment as she remembered something. “Doesn’t Alice need a place to rent? She’s trying to get away from her girlfriend, but can’t afford to move out on her own with two kids. If you make it affordable enough, not only would you have someone to watch over the house, but you could help her too. We could pack everything up except basic furniture and ship it over to Austria once you get settled.”

“May I join you ladies?” Michael stuck his head in around the door.

“Come on, I think I have her almost convinced.” Sasha waved him in lazily.

Michael knelt at Jen’s feet. He took her hands in his and could not stop himself from smiling. “I need you. Things are falling apart back in Vienna. I have too much on my hands. My wife Anna is a wonderful woman. I love her very much, but she is not a business woman. Please, at least think about it. We have spent too long apart. Stefan, Val and I have been away from you for too long. We do not know our way around here or the people. We are having a hard time thinking of ways to protect you. Back in Vienna, we know our friends and family. We know our city and its ways. Please. Think of this as a birthday trip. Sasha told me your birthday was last week.”

“Fine. Sasha can move her stuff here. She gets to deal with her boyfriend and you lot can help her pack if she needs it. One week. I’ll give you guys one week in Vienna before I say yes or no. I want to meet your wife and see your office and the work you would have me do. I don’t do anything without full disclosure. I would need my own place and transportation if I do agree to this.” She reached out and pushed his hair behind his ear.

“Anything within reason. If you agree to this, I will see you settled and comfortable. We will discuss salary later. Sasha talked to her boyfriend while you slept. I have movers arranged for tomorrow to pack her things under his supervision. Anna is already expecting a shipment.” He kissed the hand he was still holding and smiled again as her free hand lightly touched his cheek.

“You all were busy while I was asleep.” Jen stated.

“He wasn’t happy about letting me go. I still love him and he still loves me, but things haven’t been good for a long time. He told me today he has been seeing someone else behind my back.” Her voice caught on the last word and Jen quickly slid around Michael and to the floor. She held her friend letting her cry.

Michael left quietly and Val came and gathered Sasha. He took her off to the room he was using. She felt odd with someone else tending to her friend. She sat on the floor and tried to make sense of everything. She went from planning revenge on her boss, having a steady life with school and witchcraft; to a whole new world, people who knew her, but very little memory of them. She was being pushed to abandon everything in her life and moving across the globe with them. On top of all of that, she was being harmed by people she did not know, had enemies that she had no idea why they were after her, and could possibly kill her if it suited their aims. She went from thinking she was no one to people thinking she was that important.

Taking a deep breath, inwardly steeling herself, she finished her dinner and headed to the kitchen to take care of dishes and leftovers. She was in a little bit of shock when she got there and not only was dinner cleaned up and put away, but her dishwasher was chugging away. She smiled to see that all the dishes that did not fit were washed by hand and drying beside the sink. Quietly, she washed her plate and stacked it with the rest.

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 7

  


    Jen made a mug of cocoa for herself and coffee for Val and Sasha. She almost tripped up the stairs on her way to deliver them, but caught herself before she did more than splash a little on her hand. She shrugged and nudged open Val’s door.

    “Coffee delivery,” she announced.

    Val smiled gratefully and took the two mugs from her. He frowned at one of them that looked like more creamer than coffee. “That one is Sasha’s. She has a little coffee with her creamer. I know you take yours black.”

    “And how did you know that?” he asked puzzled.

    “Once she started dreaming about you, Sasha found everything she could on you, favorite color, the way you take your coffee, ex-girlfriends, ex-bands, influences, everything. If you have said it in an interview, she probably has it stored in her memory. When I said obsessed, I actually meant it. I thought she was for a while, but it makes sense now.” She parked herself in the armchair next to the bed and saw that Sasha was asleep.

“Cried herself to sleep huh?” The burgundy comforter was pulled most of the way over Sasha’s head. It actually complemented the red of her hair in the low light. Just her face from the nose up was visible.

    “Yes, how well you know her.” He gave a crooked smile and sipped his coffee quietly. “She said you have agreed to a visit.”

    “Yeah, don’t get your hopes up. How is Johan taking all of this?” She curled her legs under her and got comfortable.

    “Sasha never did wake up at voices, did she.” He stated quietly. “Johan is confused. He does not understand how we all know each other and why I would want to marry a person, that to his mind, I just met today. Unless he comes home to Avalon, I doubt he will understand it.”

    “But it isn’t really home. Home is where your heart is. Home is where your memories are stored. Avalon is wonderful, but my heart isn’t there. I only remember flashes of Ranald, Ranulf and Linden. This house is my home. It was my aunt’s house. My parents died when I was little. My brother and I floated around in foster care for a few years. We stayed with one family for a few years. It, well, it wasn’t a good place. They abused me and my brother. I’m not going into details, but I still have nightmares at times. When I was thirteen, they finally located my aunt. She took us in without a second thought. She spoiled us and gave us everything she could. One year she took us to a family reunion. It was the last one I ever went to. One of my cousins tricked me into leaving the group. I mean family is safe right? He held me down, gagged me and raped me. He told me when he was done that if anyone found out that he would claim I came on to him. After all as a foster kid I had been exposed to some bad people, it was no wonder I was a slut at fourteen.” She shuddered at the memory. “It took me years to be able to tell my aunt. By the time I did, he was dead. He had raped a five year old and was killed in prison. He would send letters after the reunion telling me how I was the best he ever had and how he looked forward to reuniting with me. I don’t think I was ever as relieved as I was when I heard he was dead.”

    She took a moment to sip some of her cooling drink. “My aunt was appalled. She died a few years ago from a heart attack while I was away with my ex-husband. There was no one there for her. Her heart stopped in the middle of the night, she never told me that she was sick. I didn’t get to say goodbye to her. She kept me from ruining my life and gave me a safe place to rest. I never got to hug her after I went away. My brother does drugs. The time in foster care ruined him. My aunt tried so hard to save him, but he was too far gone by the time we were rescued. Right now he is in a halfway house. He got out of jail a couple of months ago for robbery and drugs.” She was so lost in thought that she didn’t even notice she was crying until a tear fell in her cocoa.

    Val reached out and used his thumbs to wipe away her tears. He took the mug out of her hand and pulled her into his arms. He had so many memories of her holding him and wiping away his tears that it was a knife to his heart to hear what had happened to her. He finally understood the bond between Sasha and Jen. Both were alone, both had been hurt beyond what most people would be able to handle and keep their sanity. “How did we get so lucky to have two such strong women to love us?”

    Jen hiccuped out a laugh. “If I was strong I could talk about something that happened half a lifetime ago without crying like a child.” She leaned her forehead against his shoulder and tried to pull herself back together again. Talking about the past was never any easier. It was why she always tried to do it as little as possible.

    “Crying is good. Crying releases pain. Never be ashamed of your tears.” He smirked even though she could not see it. “A very smart and wonderful woman once told me that when a bully pushed me down and broke my wrist.”

    “You had a good mom then? Your family was good to you?” She held her breath waiting on his answer.

    He gave a low chuckle. “It was not my mother who said that, but yes, my family is wonderful. They are like your aunt. They will love you and Sasha.” He pushed her back a bit until he could look into her eyes. “The woman who told me that was Lyra. A bully picked on me for being a bastard. He shoved me down and I broke my wrist trying to catch myself as I fell. She not only healed my wrist, she held me while I cried and then had the child censured at school for bullying.”

    “I wish I were still her. Everyone seems to expect me to suddenly turn into her. Maybe if I ever remember, I will be more her. Right now, I am Jen. Plain old Jen.” She closed her eyes as he kissed her forehead.

    “You are her. You have her heart and her strength. We just need to work on your trust now. Trust not only in us, but in yourself as well. Memories do not make the person. What is in their heart is what makes a person.” He laughed again. “Yet another thing Lyra taught me.”

    “She sounds like she had a lot of wisdom. I guess that comes from living so long.” She gave a watery giggle and pulled away from him completely. “I guess I should go check on my paper and reconnect with the world. Just because you guys are here doesn’t mean that the rest of the world has stopped spinning.”

    Jen hugged him tightly and made her way back down the stairs. She curled up in her chair and tapped her fingers on the arm of her chair impatient for her computer to boot up. Logging in her food intake on the website she used, she grimaced at the amount of exercise that was her sentence for lunch out and her big dinner.

    Shutting the computer down, Jen headed for the garage and put in her earbuds. Using music to motivate her, she blasted it as she used her elliptical machine. She worked her way through several songs and had sweat pouring down her face soaking into her shirt. Laughing, she could feel the endorphins start to build in her body and reveled in how warm and loose her muscles were feeling.

    A scream burst out of her when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. Jen flailed about, thrown off her stride and fell backwards. Strong arms caught her before she could hit the floor, but she felt a sharp pain in her ankle.  She looked up and and saw Johan looking horrified. He lowered her to the floor as gently as he could.

    When she pulled out her earbuds, she caught him in mid sentence. “So sorry, I was going to ask where the bathroom paper was, I did not see your,” he grasped for the word and motioned to his ears.

    “My headphones?” She supplied helpfully.

    “Yes, headphones. I am so sorry, are you well? Are you hurt?” He tried to pat her down and kept hitting embarrassing places.

    “My ankle turned I think, just stop okay?” Jen pushed away his hands and tried to stand. She yelped in pain and sat back down quickly. Her cheeks went red in embarrassment as Michael and Stefan ran in half dressed.

    “What happened?” Michael asked as he and Stefan helped her up and supported her back into the living room.

    “I’m okay, I’m sorry for scaring you. I was working out and had the music too loud. Johan just wanted some toilet paper and he threw me off stride. I took a bit of a tumble, but he kept me from getting too hurt. I think I hurt my ankle. I can’t stand on it.” She bit her lower lip and was mortified that not only had she gotten hurt their first night there, but she was definitely looking less than her best.

    “Can you stand on it?” Stefan picked up her left foot and started to rotate her foot gently. She whimpered in pain and tears gathered in her eyes.  “I think we need to seek medical help. It could be broken.”

    “Can someone wake up Sasha? She can take me. Someone please reassure Johan before he does something stupid. This was an accident. I don’t want him to blame himself for it.” She sighed in relief as Stefan elevated her foot and Michael brought a flexible ice pack from the freezer. “Please, I need Sasha.”

    Michael nodded and jumped the stairs three at a time yelling through the house for Val and Sasha. Even in pain she noticed how both men looked without their shirts. She finally had some sympathy for Sasha when she was drooling over the shirtless pictures of Val.

    “I can’t leave you alone for a single moment can I?” Sasha groused as she stomped down the stairs. Her hair was wild and she had dark smudges under her eyes. She looked like she had spent several sleepless nights despite the full night of rest she had the night before.

    “It was an accident. The last ten times we were in the emergency room was for you if you recall. I think it is just a sprain, but Stefan is worried it is broken.” She could feel the throbbing in her ankle and foot. It was swelling and bruising and she was not happy about it. “I just wanted to work out and go to bed. Instead, I think I need help getting to the car.”

    “Fine, Val and I can take you. Larry, Moe and Curly here can stick around here and wait for word. I doubt they would be happy to have all of us in the waiting room. She eyed the guys current state of undress and smirked. “I think they would start a riot personally. We don’t get many looking like them around here.”

    Dirty looks were shot at her from all four men and Jen could not help but laugh. Their looks were so similar that they seemed as if they were related. She gasped as Michael picked her up and carried her bridal style to the car. “Grab my purse Sasha. I have all of my insurance and identification in there. Grab me a granola bar please? I’m still hungry.”

    She sucked in a breath and hissed in pain when he settled her in the front seat of Sasha’s car. “Have Val let us know what they say, please?” He leaned in and kissed her. He took his time and savored it, he did not know when she would allow him another one.

    “All right, back off Romeo. We need to get her checked out, medicated and back in bed. Alone preferably, but I will bunk there with her if I have to for her to get some peace.” Sasha slid behind the wheel as Val tried to fit his long frame in the back seat.  She spared a thanks to whichever God or Goddess had her choose a larger vehicle when she picked it out.

 

******

 

    Six hours later she was home with a prescription, crutches and a newly diagnosed moderate sprain to her ankle. She would be fine in a day or two. She was a bit loopy with the painkillers, but she figured they would help her sleep. Sasha had to fight off everyone and informed them in a very tart tone of voice that she would be staying with Jen, and no, she did not need help. Jen giggled a little thinking that she needed a huge bed that would fit all six of them. That would have been the only thing that would have made everyone happy.

    “Sasha, I need a shower! I’m all sweaty and I’m sure I stink by now.” Jen’s words were a little slurred, but intelligible. She sat on the edge of her bed and started removing her clothing piece by piece and then the aircast they had put on her ankle.

    “What in the name of the Goddess are you doing?” Sasha kept batting at her hands trying to stop her.

    “I need a shower. I’m.... icky!” She grabbed her crutches and levered herself up and into the bathroom.  Sasha threw her hands in the air and followed her. It was not the first time she had seen her friend naked and probably would not be the last. Both women were drenched and clean by the time Sasha could get Jen out of the shower. She dosed her with anti-inflammatory pills and tucked her into bed.  
    “Just shut up and go to sleep, I’m sure everyone is waiting for us to fall asleep. We need to regroup at Gwen’s house to discuss strategy.” She slid under the covers and waited to hear the other woman start snoring before she finally allowed herself to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 8

  
  
  


Gwen did not think she had been happier in quite some time. Her husband smiled and watched her serve refreshments to everyone assembled in their living room. Loud noises and cheering could be heard even inside the house, but they all did their best to ignore it.

“I wish you hadn’t destroyed the crystal Sasha, now we will never know what spell was used.” Gwen refilled Sasha’s coffee mug and placed yet another thick slice of chocolate cake in front of her.

“I didn’t exactly have much of a choice. It was either let it continue to hurt or even kill Jen or cleanse it with fire.” Sasha bounced a little in her seat and proceeded to devour the cake. Her relief at not having diabetes in that world had translated into an all out chocolate and sugar binge.

“I think there is another crystal buried around the house, but Michael wouldn’t let me even address it at dinner.” Ranulf paced near the door.

The front door slowly opened and a furry head poked in. Jen jumped up and squeaked. Golden eyes stared at her and looked as if they were assessing her as a threat or a meal. “A wolf,” Sasha breathed in awe. “My guardian, he led me to Val in the dream world.”

    The gray and brown fur bunched as it hunkered down and slunk forward. Jen tilted her head and did something unexpected; she smiled. “Wolves are my guides too. I have seen you before haven’t I?” As the wolf got closer, they could see that it was male. Jen knelt down and held out a hand to him.

“Think about it, this can’t be a normal wolf. He opened the door. What kind of wolf can do that?” Jen sighed when the shaggy head thrust itself under her hand. She scratched lightly behind one ear and giggled when she got a very slobbery tongue up the side of her face. “All right, why are you here?” She stiffened when he took her hand in his teeth and tugged her towards the door.

“I think we had better follow. He won’t harm me, but he wants me at the very least to go with him.” He let go of her hand and whimpered at her. She got to her feet and stumbled after him. Instead of heading in the direction of town, he led her to the forest. She started running when she could see a body lying propped against a tree in the distance.

“Sasha! Kieran! Get a stretcher, we have a man down!” Jen yelled back at them trying to not lose her breath. Behind her Ranald and Ranulf peeled off and headed for the healer’s compound to get help. As she got close enough she saw it was Johan. His breath came in shallow pants and he had several large bloody spots on his shirt.  

As she skidded to a stop, she flung herself down next to him. “Oh God, oh God, Johan! Open your eyes sweetie, please be okay, please still be alive.” She felt for a pulse and her heart sank into her stomach. It was weak and thready. At times the beat stopped all together for a moment, then pounded harder to try and make up for it. 

    Moving him onto his back, she ripped open his shirt. Knife wounds still oozed blood near his heart and lungs. There was a pool of blood under where had been sitting and she came to the horrified conclusion that he had wounds in both front and back.

Jen ran her fingers lightly over the wounds praying that the healing would kick in, but no flash of green came. She cursed long and loudly in several different languages and closed her eyes. A deep breath helped her focus on just her fingers and her awareness began to narrow down to just his wounds. She had to fight not to jerk back in surprise when she felt her energies start to mix with his. His heart slowed, stuttering, she could hear the death rattle in his lungs and wanted to scream.

If she were Brighid’s daughter she could save him. If she could access the power, she knew she could bring him back. Her breathing slowed and music flowed from her. Notes escaped from her lips as if they had just been waiting for the chance. She tamped down any reaction to it, but it was not a tune she knew consciously. 

    Delicately she pulled herself from her body. Nerve by nerve and breath by breath she lost awareness of the form she was wearing. She moved her consciousness from her body and hovered over his. Her emotions faded into the background and she found herself analyzing each wound, every single entry and exit point that swords had made on his body.

    With a sense of someone else guiding her hands she let her energy enter him. Jen saw in her mind the flesh knitted and whole. Binding the cells together, she fused them without a mark or a scar. Using this new kind of sight, she could see through him to the wounds in the back and the pathways of healing his body would naturally take. 

    Jen marshaled his remaining energies to jump start his own healing processes as she worked. She seared and sealed each wound in turn and only moved on to the next when she was sure that no damage or infection was left behind. Every wound was not only healed, but erased as if they never had been.

    Someone had knocked him out before they stabbed him. Jen made a mental note to be thankful for that later. She felt Sasha’s energies join with hers as they focused on his brain. She felt him respond better when Sasha’s energies touched his. Like a lightning bolt, energy poured out of Sasha to him and then back to her.  _ Bonded,  _ she thought. 

    Jen waited and assessed the damage. Sasha inspected his brain for damage and found only a little bruising and swelling. Sasha took the lead and sped up his body’s built in processes to remove the excess fluid and made sure that the tiny capillaries were sealed off.

Assured of his recovery, she started to withdraw back into her body. Jen stopped and waited for a moment. She felt light, she felt so good that she did not want it to end.  Linden was calling her back, but she ignored him until she felt a damp nose press into her cheek. She was slammed back into her body with enough force to knock her backward onto the ground. Linden held her as she lay there gasping and trying not to lose the contents of her stomach.

_     Your reentry was too sudden. I am sorry for it, but we cannot lose you. You were about to fly and leave your body behind. I could not allow it. _ A voice whispered quietly in her mind. Jen turned on her side and found the wolf laying there beside her.

“That was you?” She asked him quietly as she tried to reach out to him. As she twined her fingers in his fur, some of the nausea and pain faded. He nuzzled her cheek and snorted.

Ranald and Ranulf returned with the stretcher and gingerly moved Johan from the forest floor onto the cloth. “Take him to my house. I will watch over him. When I leave, Gwen or another healer can step in, but Sasha and I will watch over him until we have no other choice.” The twins bowed their heads in acknowledgement and moved smoothly and swiftly towards the manor house. She staggered to her feet and smiled as Linden was there to help steady her and keep her upright.

“What do we call you? We can’t just keep calling you wolf now can we?” Jen rested her hand on the top of his head and finally got around to scratching behind the other ear.

_     Wolf or friend will do just fine. It is not yet time for you to know me. _ His voice was smug at being able to keep a secret from her. 

“Fine. I need food, something for my head and a nice mug of hot tea. It doesn’t have to be in that order. Sasha, are you okay?” Linden put his arm around her waist helping to keep her standing.

“I’m fine, I got in on it at the end. I really didn’t have much to do there, his body was already taking care of it. Any idea when he will wake up?” Sasha staggered a bit, but Kieran was there to catch her.

“I’m missing something, it’s right in front of me and I’m too blind to see it. If he was attacked here, what happened? Is his body asleep, or did someone get in the house and try to take him out?” She flashed a panicked look at Sasha.

“Kieran and I know how to wake ourselves up. We will check on him and make sure everyone is safe. I know how to call emergency services like a pro.” She grabbed Kieran’s hand and they both disappeared.  She used a little fire to wipe clean any blood left behind. Nothing could be left to use against Johan.

Linden swung her up in his arms much as he had when she sprained her ankle and jogged lightly back to the manor. She just rested her head as best she could against his shoulder and waited for the ride to end. The wolf trotted behind them and she was relieved. For once, Linden willingly passed her over to Ranald when they got to the front door.

“How is he?” Linden asked roughly.

“Unconscious. Where are Sasha and Kieran?” Ranald asked looking around for them.

“They went to check on him in the house. I was concerned someone had broken in or he was hurt in some way.” Jen reached up and kissed Ranald on the cheek. She laughed when he turned pink and muttered to himself. “Take me to him please. I think I can wake him.”

“You can see him, but you are done working on him. You exhausted yourself working on him here and you also were injured in the other world. We are putting our collective foot down.” Ranald tried to look very serious as he attempted to lay down the law to her.

“I am in charge of myself. Don’t let the door hit you on the ass on your way out if you can’t trust me to know my own limits. Put me down.” Her head spun as she was lowered to her feet, but she was able to stand without help. “Now, where did you stash him?”

“Oh please follow me my lady.” Ranald’s back stiffened up and his voice was pure sarcasm.

Choosing discretion over giving him a blistering set down, she followed him and took her time climbing the stairs. Her head was spinning a bit faster by the time they reached the top, but she gamely continued following him. He swung open the door and Ranulf jumped up clearly not happy to see her there. To stop the inevitable protest she simply held up her hand and sat on the edge of the bed that they had put Johan in. He had been stripped and cleaned and tucked under the covers. She pulled back the blankets and examined him visually and nodded. He was fully healed. He had only to be pulled back to them by letting him know he was in safe hands.

She placed her hands on his chest and closed her eyes. She reached out with her mind and searched for his.  _ Johan,  _ she called out.  _ Johan, you are safe, come back to us. Sasha needs you. _

A strong hand came flying up from under the sheet and wrapped around her neck. She found herself rolled over under his weight and his hand cutting off her air. She locked her eyes with his.  _ Johan, it is Jen. Come back to us before you kill me, sweetie. _ She fought to keep from striking out at him with any of her abilities. Having just healed the man, she did not have the energy to do it again so soon.

Sanity slowly returned to to his eyes and he rolled off of her before he collapsed. Jen coughed and gasped for air. Jen smacked Ranald’s hand away from her and took long deep gulping breaths. She turned on her side and pulled the exhausted man to her. His shoulders were shaking as she held him and gently stroked his hair. “It’s okay Johan. Tell us what happened?”

A long unintelligible string of German came out of his mouth. Ranulf took it upon himself to translate. “I was wandering when I found a group of people. I hid behind a tree and listened. They were speaking in English and I could only understand about three quarters of what they were saying. They were angry. They said that the Queen was back and had to be removed before she came to full power. They said her arrival ruined their plans and all would be lost if she was not killed immediately. They were planning how to do this. You have to find this Queen Lyra and tell her not to trust her council. They are going to kill her at the council meeting when she takes her place.”

“Hush Johan, we will warn her. We will take care of it. Now you must feel confused. Remember what Val said about a different world? You are here with us in it. Do you remember what those men did to you?” She jerked as he clutched her tighter as if she were his stuffed bear.

“They hit me from behind. I was partly aware. They said they had to get rid of the witness. They stabbed me and I lost consciousness. I tried to fight them, they laughed. They said strangers die in Avalon. Since I was not in the crowd, they could do what they liked with me and no one would know. They toyed with me like a cat does a mouse.” Johan started to relax, but the difference between Ranulf’s calm translation and his fear was disorienting.

“You are safe now, can you identify them? If you saw them again, could you identify them?” She brushed back one of his flattened spikes of hair and saw the fear and determination in his dark brown eyes.

“Yes.” He spoke slowly, fighting to regain his ability to speak English. “If not by face, then by voice. I am musician. We know voices.” He touched her neck and made a noise in the back of his throat. “Sorry. Hurt you twice now.” He rolled over onto his back and patted his chest. “No pain, how?”

“Sasha and I fixed you. It was close, but we fixed it all. Sasha is back in the other world making sure we are all safe.” She laced her fingers with his and squeezed his hand. “You are forgiven all pain. You did not mean to cause harm either time.”

Sasha and Kieran appeared in the room and Jen sat up too quickly. She held a hand over her mouth as nausea crawled up her throat. “We have to all go back. The house was broken into and you need to talk to the cops. Things are thrown everywhere like they were looking for something but not much is actually broken.” Sasha rushed over to Johan and touched his forehead. One second he was there and the next he was gone.

“Did anyone notice the moonstone necklace around his neck?” She asked before she too found herself waking up in her bed.

“Oh Gods, I smell smoke!” She tried to hop out of bed, but screamed in pain when she put both feet on the floor. She yanked her crutches to her and grabbed what she could. Her purse, her coat, her car keys, her stuffed dog and a picture of her aunt were all she could carry at once. The fire alarm started going off and people poured out of the house. All of the guys had their suitcases with them and Sasha quickly grabbed Jen’s laptop and her own purse before getting out.

Jen could only stand there and cry as her house went up in flames. By the time the fire department got there, the house was halfway engulfed and she knew there would be no saving it. She hit her knees and just stayed there watching her home and all of her memories burn. More fire engines and paramedics came and organized everyone. Val helped her to her feet and turned her away from the sight of the burning building. Her last link to the aunt she had loved so much crumbled in the heat of the fire and the force of the water hitting support walls and beams.

“Please tell me Sasha’s stuff was in the storage shed out back?” Jen asked through chattering teeth. She was cold, too cold and knew that she was going into shock. A paramedic brought a blanket and wrapped it around her. Michael and Stefan engulfed her. They hugged her between them and for a brief moment were united in their concern for her.

“Yes, her things are back there, the rest is still at her boyfriend’s house. The shed was not touched. It has precious things?” Feeling her nod Stefan responded for her. “Yes.”

“It has things I can rebuild with. They will have to be moved. They are vulnerable. Who would want to burn my house down?” She was feeling warmer, but drowsy as dawn streaked the sky with pinks and orange that showed the damage to the house in all its awful detail. Michael stepped away and pulled out his cell phone. She did not register what he was saying or what language it was in.

“I have a car coming for us. We will stay at a hotel and get clothing for Jen. The movers that are going to take care of Sasha’s things will move the things out of the shed in the back. We will decide from there what to do with them. I will arrange a professional storage shed close by.” Michael tilted her face up to him. “You are not alone. Stefan and I will fix things.”

“I had insurance information in a fireproof safe in the shed. I had everything organized in case something ever happened. Things I can replace. The house can be rebuilt, but it’s all gone now. The lace my great grandmother crocheted, the family pictures, my treasures. It’s all gone and someone took it from me.”

“How do you know it was on purpose?” Stefan questioned.

“It went too fast. The house was up to code, it shouldn’t have burned that fast. They had to have used something to make it burn like that. “ All but one of the fire trucks rolled out. A crew stayed to use hatchets on the remains to make sure there were no pocket fires that could flare back up. She handed back the blanket to the paramedic and put on her coat. She smiled when Stefan’s suit jacket was draped over her shoulders.

The blackened framing of the house still stood and one corner of the house was barely touched. It amused her that her aunt’s old sewing room was the one place that partly escaped the fire. When she thought of everything she lost, her heart sank into her stomach like a lead weight. The fire crews pulled Michael aside and gave him the all clear, but warned them not to go in the house for another few hours.

Stefan handed Jen his phone. “Call someone to be here while you sleep. When it is safe to, we will go in and rescue whatever we can. Is your passport in your safe?” She shook her head and handed the phone off to Sasha. “All of my paperwork is in a bank safety deposit box. Call Stephanie and ask her to come. I know she has her baby, but there is no one else to ask.”

“We could ask John. We may have broken up, but he does still care about you. He would probably come and doesn’t have a baby to worry about.” Sasha offered.

“Whoever we can trust. I don’t care right now.” She sat on the ground heavily and neatly laid the crutches on the ground next to her. The pain from her ankle started to bleed through as the shock and adrenaline wore off. “When is the car coming?” She asked plaintively.

“Soon, I promise.” Was Michael’s response. He walked away again and started making more calls.

“Johan, are you okay? Everyone else has spoken, you have not.” Suddenly realizing the silence from one part of the group, Val checked on his friend.

“The other world, it is real too?” Johan sounded confused. “People from there did this?”

“We do not know if it was set or not. The other world is real. I tried to explain it to you, but you had to see to believe.” Val squeezed his friend’s shoulder.

“Then I have to do this.” He walked in front of where Jen sat and knelt in front of her. When he pulled out his pocket knife, Sasha stepped closer to her prepared to defend her if needed. “Harm for harm. Ankle and neck, both caused by me.” He prepared to cut himself and Jen quickly knocked the knife out of his hand.

“If you truly want to make amends, never cut yourself again. Cutting solves nothing and helps no one. Help Michael with the arrangements and we can talk later.” She struggled to her feet as a van pulled up to the curb. Johan grabbed her hands and pulled her up. He retrieved his knife and stashed it back in his pocket with a thoughtful look. Sasha helped her with her crutches as she talked on the cell phone.

“John said he’ll be here in a half hour. He just has to get dressed and call out of work. I told him you were fine except for the ankle thing. He is worried about all of this. He thinks it's Michael’s fault.”

“If he wasn’t coming to help us, I’d tell him where to shove that idea.” Jen made her way slowly to the van and looked at the floorboards with a sense of futility and frustration. She squealed as she was picked up from behind and gently set down in a seat.

Michael worried all the way to the hotel. First someone spelled her, then they tried to kill her and all of them by setting her house on fire. His itch to get them all home with him grew and he ground his teeth. He still did not feel safe. He would not feel safe until they were on his home turf and he could get the two women protected. “We need to get out of the country. They expect us to stay here and fight. Here they are in control and can strike when they want. I can get trustworthy people to guard you there. Here I know no one.”

Jen did not reply. She did not even seem to register that he had spoken.  Sasha turned in her seat and snapped her fingers in front of her face. “Earth to Jen. Are you listening?”

“Vengeance is hers.” Jen muttered.

“What?” Sasha patted Jen’s cheek to try and bring her attention back to the present.

“A voice in my head. A woman said that vengeance is hers. Vengeance for what? What did I do to deserve this? I try to cause no harm. I try to live my life taking care of people. I had a normal life. Yeah, it sucked, but it was normal. Why did someone have to target me?” Tears flowed down her cheeks dripping down onto Stefan’s coat.  “I didn’t do anything wrong.” She huddled into the jacket and closed her eyes. She tuned out everyone around her and withdrew back into her own mind.

“You’re hearing voices now?” Sasha practically screeched. When Jen did not respond she turned to Michael. “We have to get out of here now. I know where her passport is and mine is at my ex’s house.  I have power of attorney and if she stays like this we can claim we are taking her to Austria for her health.”

“We will decide everything once we get to the hotel and rest. Sasha, you get to pick out several days worth of clothing for yourself and Jen. Johan and Val will go with you to make sure you are safe. Buy whatever you want. Jen’s clothing was all destroyed. She needs enough to pack in a suitcase. Get enough that you will not have to go shopping once you get to Vienna for at least a few days. Your clothing will all be shipped.” Michael fished out his wallet and handed over a black credit card.

Sasha’s mouth gaped open and Val tried to hide a laugh. “Is that what I think it is?” She had to fight to make herself heard. All of the air seemed to have left her lungs.

Michael smiled for the first time in hours. “It is my black card. I could charter planes, buy sports cars and rebuild Jen’s house with it. No more discount knock off clothes right? Just keep it under ten thousand. Have a little fun, but do not bankrupt me. Please?”

The sound of male laughter shook Sasha out of her stupor. She stuck her tongue out at them and quickly tucked it into her pocket. “If you think you are getting this back without a fight, you are seriously mistaken. Oh the fun I could have with it.”

“Perhaps I should take that back, Val might be more trustworthy with it. I know I would get it back from him.” Michael teased her.

“I’ll bite you.” Sasha warned.

“I like that. I like them feisty in bed.” His eyes cut to Jen and the laughter died. “You know what she likes and the sizes she wears?”

“She drags me shopping all the time.  No worries.” She patted his shoulder to reassure him.

They pulled up to the hotel and Sasha shook her head. “The Four Seasons? Really? How spoiled are you?” She took Val’s hand as he helped her out. Stefan pulled Jen out of the van and carried her in. He was deeply disconcerted that she had not snapped out of whatever was holding her in thrall.

“I have two rooms, we all need to stay together as much as possible. I have arranged a personal shopper for you Sasha, they will take you around and help you pick out what you need. Get yourself and Jen everything you need. I mean everything. Cosmetics, clothing, suitcases, lingerie, anything you need for day to day living and traveling. That is why I gave you such a high limit. No discount stores. I want things nice and of good quality. Call her doctor and get her prescriptions refilled and buy any over the counter medicines you need to. You both deserve it after the time you have had in the last couple of days. I have also arranged for a spa treatment for you both, if Jen will come back to us.” Michael led the way into the hotel and pulled out a platinum card to hand to the man at the front desk. “Michael Janson and party.”

Odd looks were given to Jen’s smoke stained and smudged clothing, but nothing was said. As if by magic a wheelchair was rolled over and Stefan set Jen in it as carefully as he could.  Michael was quiet as they were shown to their rooms.  Sasha leaned them against the door to the bedroom, then gave in and whistled at the large rooms. Michael sat Jen on the couch and looked deep into her eyes. “She has no shields. Her shields are down, that is why she isn’t speaking. Her mind is being overwhelmed by everything she is hearing. It’s why she said she was hearing voices. I just brought her into a very crowded city and took her ten stories off the ground away from her power source. How stupid can I be?”

Sasha joined Michael and touched her friend’s forehead. “You’re right. She is wide open. I can shield her myself, but whoever set the fire likely knew the effect it would have on her. They knew this would happen.” She closed her eyes to concentrate and pushed her energy to surround them both. The difference was almost immediately evident. Jen’s eyes cleared and she sat up straighter.

Jen looked around and shrugged out of both jackets she was wearing. Sasha pulled back reluctantly to give her friend some space. “You need to get your shields back up, I can’t hold this forever.”

“Why would I allow her shields back? That would defeat my purpose dear.” The mouth moving was Jen’s but the voice definitely was not.

“Who are you?” Sasha demanded.

“Someone who wants and deserves justice. She will pay, you all will pay.” Maniacal laughter spilled forth and Sasha got a flash of red hair and purple eyes. “Say pretty please and I might let your friend have her body back.”

“Fuck that.” Sasha spat out. She nodded to Michael, Val and Stefan. The three surrounded Sasha and lent her their energy. Sasha blasted it out and into Jen, the laughter did not stop until Jen slid sideways laying on the couch. “Oh my pretties, I will not underestimate you again!”

Sasha sighed as she felt the foreign energy leave. Jen laid there and whimpered. “My head hurts. My ankle hurts.”

“Get your shields back up Jen. I can’t hold this forever.” Sasha sounded strained and ready to cry. She sighed in relief as she felt the pressure from Jen’s mind disappear. “Can I let you free?”

“Yeah, I’m good.” She clutched her head and Sasha walked away before Jen could see how disturbed she was. Digging through Jen’s purse she found the vicodin the doctor had given her and brought one back with a glass of water. Michael propped up her legs and gingerly set down her swollen ankle.

“We need to take off the aircast and ice that. The swelling is too bad. She may need to see another doctor.” Stefan put some pillows under Jen’s head and kissed her cheek. “We will get you fixed up love.”

“Just ice it, help me keep it elevated and for the love of the Gods get everyone some food. Sasha should have eaten hours ago. Her sugar could crash any minute.” Jen whimpered as she tried to give instructions. The pain in her head was just too much.

“Who is sleeping where?” Val finally asked.

“We will sort it out later.” Stefan responded his fingers trailing in Jen’s hair


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 9

  
  
  


    “Did you rob Nordstrom’s?” Jen asked incredulously. She eyed the pile of clothing Sasha had laid out for her. Bras, underwear, pants suits, dresses all down to jeans and shoes were still adorned with tags. “Sasha, where did all this come from? I can’t afford this.”

    “Don’t worry about it. It’s all been covered and I did nothing illegal.” Sasha grinned and waved Michael’s black card at Jen.

    “What next? An ankle brace by Prada? Geez, I’m going to have to find a way to pay him back now.” Jen scrubbed at her face with both hands. “I go to sleep for four hours and you bring back half a department store. Tell me you didn’t spend more than a thousand.”

    “Then I won’t tell you. He told me to do what was needed. Before you have a fit, I got you two weeks of clothing from the skin out and luggage. I just did what I was told to. I showed the personal shopper your photo and she helped me pick everything out. Let me tell you, money is fun!” Sasha set out black jeans, a blue blouse and under things for Jen. “Let’s get you a shower and some food. You have to be hungry and I know I am! I picked up your prescriptions and all the medicines you need for your allergies. When I told my doctor I was traveling he gave me a script for three months of supplies for my pump.” She took a page from Michael’s book and talked too fast for Jen to get a word in edgewise.

    “Stop, just stop. I’ll deal with Michael since you were only following orders.” She swung herself into the shower and stacked her crutches outside the shower stall. “At least you didn’t go too over the top, did you?” She asked plaintively.

    “Nope, I know your taste, I know your sizes and I had help from the personal shopper. She was a whiz at this stuff and actually did most of it for me. We both know how much I like shopping, so I let her run around. I did give her a nice tip though.” Sasha paused for a moment. “Why does this bug you so much?”

    “I won’t be kept. I won’t be a mistress. I will pay every penny back so I hope you kept the receipts.” She finished her shower and reached for a towel.

    “Can’t you see it as someone who loves you wanting to help? You’ve just lost everything, let him help you. I’m going to be dependent on Val for everything until I find a job. Maybe you can convince mister multimillionaire who will never miss the money to take it out of your salary.” Sasha felt herself grow annoyed with the thought of Jen having a guaranteed job and turning her nose up at it. “Besides, when you get your memories back, you’ll see this is a very poor way of repaying you for everything you’ve done for him.”

    “If I take the job, I will need a secretary you know. Since Michael has seen how well you take orders, I’m sure he won’t mind if I pick you.” Jen towel dried her hair as well as she could and then hobbled her way to her waiting clothes. “Where are the boys?”

    “Well, after I got your passport, they went to make sure that the plane is secure and ready for travel. Michael wants us in Vienna as soon as possible. It’s almost a sixteen hour flight due to a stop in New York to refuel before crossing the Atlantic.” Sasha handed over the tag free outfit and returned to removing tags from everything else. Once everything was untagged Sasha dumped them in the trash and then hid the trash bag. After all, she was only following orders. Michael already had the receipts and was appalled that she had spent so little.  _ Stuck between a rock and a hard place. One person yells at me for spending too much and the other is annoyed that I didn’t spend enough.  _ She thought to herself wryly. 

    “Johan is just quiet. Shock huh?” She smirked. “Val is watching me like a hawk, scared something is going to happen to me. Michael and Stefan keep bickering over where you are going to stay and who is going to watch over you. They are also arguing over whether watching over you can be a full time job. Michael says yes and Stefan says no. Stefan thinks he is indispensable to Michael to keep him organized. Michael thinks his secretary can take care of things. I was ready to knock their heads together before Val dragged me off shopping.”  Sasha packed her stuff and Jen’s neatly in their suitcases.

    “Val doesn’t seem the shopping type to me. I’m surprised he didn’t get bored and wander off to the electronics department like most other guys.” She finished the buttons on the blouse and bent down to pull on the slipper shoes Sasha had laid out. “Thank you for not getting me anything with heels. I would just sprain my other ankle or Gods forbid actually break it this time.”

    “Yeah, that’s what Val said. I was looking at these great boots with a chunky heel like you used to have and he steered me away from them. He says you are hazard enough just walking on a flat stable surface.” Sasha’s phone rang and she rushed to answer it. She looked and Jen muttered a quick, “behave,” and then walked out of the room for privacy.

    Just as Jen was getting ready to come after her, Sasha walked back in. “John said that they found some of your jewelry intact. It is getting packed with the stuff from your shed. He’s leaving the house now to go home and oversee the shippers as they pack my things. He said hello and he will go back to the house with a shovel tomorrow to look for anything else salvageable.”

    “I’ll call him later and thank him myself. He’s doing me a huge favor.” She wobbled to her feet and hissed as she tried to put some sort of weight on her sprained ankle.

    “Stop being an idiot. John cares about you. You aren’t just my friend, you’re his too. He’s known you longer than I have. Did you think he didn’t see you as part of the family?”

    “He’s just such a private guy, he doesn’t talk much so it’s hard to feel close to him. I do care about him too. I hate the thought of either one of you hurting.” Jen’s head snapped up as the room to the suite opened. She moved on the other side of the door where she could not be seen and waited.

    “Maid service!” A woman’s voice called out into the rooms.

    Jen nodded at Sasha. “I’m in here.” She called back.

    “Oh good you’re alone.” The maid’s voice changed to a syrupy sweetness that set Jen’s nerves on edge.  As the maid came in, she pulled a gun out from her pocket. Using her crutch like a club she let the woman start to step through before swinging it and connecting with the woman’s head. The gun flew into the bathroom and Jen sat on the floor waiting for Sasha to come back with the gun. Working together they used layers of trash bags to tie the woman up. Sasha called Michael to come back as quickly as he could.

    Michael came charging through the door an hour later. They had to gag their guest and tie her with nylons once she broke all the garbage bags. She had almost gotten loose before Sasha had remembered them in her purchases for herself.

    “Ladies, I have someone coming to take her with them. I have.... connections around the world. By the time we land in Vienna, she will have given those people everything she knows.” Michael spared a disgusted look for the creature on the floor.

“What are they going to do to her?” Jen demanded haughtily.

    “Less than she was going to do with you two.” Michael replied. He reached down and grabbed a handful of the woman’s light brown hair and pulled it back. He whispered in her ear so that the other two women would not hear. “They will drug you, cut you, slice you, burn you, anything they need to do to get the information I want. You can tell them upfront or you can suffer before being sent to the underworld. Personally I hope you suffer. You would take two of the most important people in any world to me away.” He took the gag off of her for a moment.

“Pendragon is coming. You will all pay and die in agony. I only hope I get to see it!” She spat in his face.

    A cruel smile spread across Michael’s face. “I will ask them to be sure they have every last bit of information out of you. You will beg for death long before they give it. You will wish your mother had never been born and that this ‘Pendragon’ had died in birth. They are very adept at getting what I need. I will find your employer and when I do, they will suffer far worse.” He gagged her again and jammed a needle in her arm. Pushing down the plunger, he injected enough medicine to keep the woman out for hours.

    “She will sleep until long after she is taken from here. These people have ways to get out of with here without suspicion. We are going to the plane. Do you both have everything you need? Sasha, the shippers are done at John’s house and Jen, your shed and anything that can be salvaged from your house at the moment, has been packaged and will be shipped.” He held his hand out to Sasha. “May I have my card back now?”

She blinked at him and shook her head. “Not a chance flyboy. I’ll give it back to you later.”

    “I have a crew coming to deal with your house Jen. They will sift through the remains and retrieve anything useful. Then when they have cleared as much as they can, they will demolish what is left.” He neglected to tell her that he planned to have it rebuilt out of brick with an almost identical interior. He wanted that part to be a surprise. She had told him too many times how much her home meant to her.

    “If I had not agreed to go with you to Austria, would this still have happened?” Jen studied his face closely. She thought if she paid enough attention to the details of his face, she would be able to tell if he was lying.

    “I don’t know. It seems as if they would have targeted you no matter what your choice. The moment you went to Afallach, they were to capture or kill you. Someone does not want you to regain your memory or your power.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “Some plan has been put into motion. I fear for our safety here and in Afallach. I fear for Afallach itself. If you can’t claim your rightful place and power, it is vulnerable. I fear that is the plan and we will face an army before too long.”

    “I broke my crutch.” Jen confessed. “Used it to knock her out when she came through the door.” Her cheeks went pink with embarrassment when he laughed and shook his head.

    “I brought back a wheelchair. You can use that to get around and your one remaining crutch until we get to Vienna. We are scheduled for take off in two hours.” He jerked slightly at the sound of a knock on the main door to the suite. “Go into the bathroom and I will tell you when it is safe to come out.”

    Jen started to protest, but Sasha put her arm around her waist and forced her to hobble into the bathroom. She kept track on her watch, but she could hear nothing from the other side of the door. It took fifteen minutes, but he eventually allowed them out. When they peeked out around the door, the room was in order, suitcases were ready to go and no sign of the damaged crutch or the woman that had threatened them.

“Efficient. I hope they are worth the money.” Sasha teased him. Jen was flabbergasted.

    “He just sent that woman off who knows where and who knows what will happen to her and you are making jokes?” She hobbled to the bed and sat down heavily.

“She was going to kill us. I don’t care what happens to her.” Sasha shrugged it off.

    “Let’s just get going. We don’t want to miss our flight.” Michael tried to help her hobble to the wheelchair, but Jen ignored him and made her way there with as much dignity as she could muster.

“Where are the other three?” Sasha asked.

“Stefan is at the plane and Val and Johan are next door with their things. They will meet us in the lobby.”

Michael pushed the chair down to the elevators and across the lobby. Val took over and helped Jen into the waiting limo.

    “Way to stay inconspicuous. How better to tell everyone that someone important is leaving than a huge limo parked outside.” Jen snarked at Michael.

    “I am sorry my lady, that my methods do not meet with your approval. I will protect you, with my life if I need to. I will not let anyone harm you or anything happen to you that I can prevent. If I do things a certain way, it is for your protection or your image. Question me all you like and I will attempt to answer satisfactorily, but do not mock me or you will not like the results.” Michael raised an eyebrow at her daring her to respond.

    “You are not my husband, my lover, or my father. Discuss things with me ahead of time as if I am an adult with a brain and not some piece of art you can lug around!” Jen shot back at him trying to hold on to her temper. She immediately closed her eyes and took a deep breath to steady and ground herself.

    His tone mellowed and he sounded almost chastened as he responded. “I am sorry. You are an adult. You have been sheltered and do not know the ways of the rich or the ways of intrigue. I will attempt to speak with you of things from now on, but I had reasons for what just happened.”

    Jen leaned her head against Val’s shoulder and smiled as he put his arm around her. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. They both ignored Sasha’s disgruntled noise at being ignored. She squeaked as he slid her across his lap to rest her ankle up on the seat and her head fit nicely into the hollow between his shoulder and neck. Silence was comforting as they relaxed on their way to the airport.

    The sound of Val’s heartbeat had lulled Jen into a heavy doze and he had to shake her a little before she would fully wake. The door she had been resting her back against suddenly opened and only Val’s grip on her kept her from falling backwards out of the limo. Strong arms picked her up and gently set her in the wheelchair. She tilted her head back and saw Stefan. She smiled at him. “I’m glad you are safe. Seattle doesn’t seem like such a safe place anymore.”

    Stefan grinned back at her and kissed her loudly on the lips. Michael frowned at the two of them, but made sure they all got on the plane with their luggage before he followed.

    “Once we get to cruising altitude, everyone is free to move around, until then, we must all be buckled.” Michael double checked that everyone was settled and secured before doing so himself. He used the intercom to signal the pilots. “Take off when ready.”

“Oh Gods.” Sasha squeezed Val’s hand hard. “I hate flying. I forgot to take the tranqs at the hotel.”

    Michael glanced at Jen questioningly. “She has a phobia about flying. She usually has to be drugged and drunk before she can even get on a plane. With the woman threatening us, I’m sure she forgot to take them in time.”

    “Alcohol? I can get her some after take off. It will only take about twenty minutes to get to cruising altitude.” Michael looked at Val’s hand. “Is she going to break his hand?”

    “No, but she might break her teeth from grinding them.” Jen wiggled her toes in her shoes and tried to move her ankle around to determine how bad the sprain still was.

“Easily fixed.” Val grinned at them and kissed Sasha.

    Jen closed her eyes and tried to ignore the sounds of Sasha and Val making out through the entire take off. She plugged in her headset to her cell phone and turned on her music player. Country music flowed through her head easing the stress of take off. She found herself humming quietly along with the harmony and her good foot tapping along with the beat.

    She jumped when her headphones were pulled out of her phone and the music spilled through the cabin. She jammed them back in quickly and turned off the music. “Really Jen? Country music?” Michael laughed openly. “You are in a plane with rockers and you are listening to people whine about their dogs dying.”

    “At least people aren’t singing about dying or killing themselves. They sing about real life, not goth, emo stuff.” Jen defended herself.

    “I just wanted you to know that you can unbuckle. We are done climbing.” He patted her shoulder and smirked as he went to make Sasha a drink.

    “I’m going to use the bedroom and lay down. I need more sleep.” Jen grabbed her one crutch and hobbled to the one quiet area of the plane. She kicked off her shoes and took off her air cast before sliding between the sheets with a sigh. Hearing the door open she groaned thinking Michael had come to make fun of her some more. “Just go away Michael. I like Country music just deal.”

    “It is a good thing I am not Michael.” Stefan held in the laughter. He could understand her frustration. “I like folk music. He laughs at me too.” He reached over and locked the door. “I do not want someone to interrupt us.” His shoes joined hers and he climbed under the covers with her. He pulled her to him and lightly kissed her lips.

“Stefan,” she started. He kissed her again.

    “If nothing else, I need to kiss you. I need to know you are alive and safe.” His hand ran down her back as he leaned his forehead against hers.

“Okay.” She rubbed her nose against his making him laugh.

    “No one can make me laugh like you. No one can make me feel like you do.” He angled his face a little and kissed her harder. A groan escaped him as her fingers skimmed over his hair. Stefan pulled her tight against him and forgot how to breathe when she wrapped her leg over his hip. Breaking off the kiss he caught his breath and stopped for a moment. “Can I touch you please?” He pleaded.

    At her nod he leaned back slightly and worked on her blouse. His fingers ghosted over her collarbone and down to the edge of her bra. She gasped and arched her back wanting more. “More, I need you to touch me more.” Jen reached back and unlatched her bra with one hand. She sat up and pulled off her blouse and bra. His sound of appreciation eased some of the discomfort and unease that was building in her. Hang ups about her body were hard to overcome and she was never more aware of her extra weight than when she was naked.

    “You could not be any more perfect.” Carefully, he pushed her back down and onto her back. Satisfaction and wonder filled him at the creamy breasts with dark pink nipples he uncovered. The lack of ribs sticking out had him smiling as he trailed his fingers over her chest down in the valley between the well formed mounds. He chuckled in satisfaction at the goose bumps that erupted over her skin.

    “Gods that feels so good.” Jen whispered to him. “No one has made me feel like this. No one has made me want to feel like this.”  Her fingers slid over his hair and gripped the back of his head as he leaned down and took a nipple in his mouth. 

    Stefan struggled to keep himself in check. He wanted to ravage her. His body was screaming with the need to take her, to fill her. He palmed her other breast rubbing and tweaking the nipple between two of his fingers.

    Watching her was just as arousing as touching her. When she arched and panted, whimpering for more, he sat up fully, looming over her as he hastily pulled off his shirt. He tried to be careful of her ankle as he pushed the blanket down and positioned himself between her legs. 

    He considered for a moment removing her pants, but he wanted this to last. If he uncovered too much too quickly, he would not have the restraint he needed. He kissed her stomach and made them both laugh by blowing a raspberry just above her belly button. Her nails scratched his scalp lightly reminding him of her impatience. Stefan kissed his way back up to her breasts and admired them. “You are beautiful, so beautiful.” He took her other nipple into his mouth and used his tongue to apply alternating pressure and suction. She cried out and pulled his hair losing herself in the moment. She half way sat up and let out a cry as he bit down a little too hard. He had to lay his head on her stomach to pull himself back.

    “Mir leid.” He shook his head to clear it. “Sorry, I’m sorry love.”

    “No, it felt good for a moment. Just, work up to that okay?” When she pulled him up for a kiss, her hands wandered over his stomach. Reversing their positions, she straddled his hips and leaned down to kiss his chest. Her hair brushed over his nipple and he felt as if he had been touched by electricity. He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her up to kiss him and he was far from gentle. His lips pushed hers open and his tongue plundered her mouth. He wanted to devour her and he wanted her scent all over him, marking him as hers. His eyes rolled back in his head as she ground her hips into his.

    Stefan growled deep in his throat and unbuttoned her pants. He pushed her off of him and back onto her back. When he stripped her of her pants and lacy underwear, he shed his own. She tried to sit up and pull him back to her, but he pushed her back down. Jen let him trap her hands over her head as he rummaged in the drawers next to the bed desperate for a condom.  He gave a relieved breath as he finally found one and let her go long enough to open the wrapper. She surprised him by freeing herself and taking it from him. and rolling it down over him. He panted harshly at the feel of her handling him as she rolled it down his length.

    Leaning down, he kissed her neck and left a trail of kisses down to her collarbone where he sucked in a bit of skin and bit down hard though to leave a perfect imprint of his teeth. He smiled at her gasp of pleasure and pinched and bit down gently on her nipples, then licked and suckled them to soothe them. When she wrapped her legs around his waist, he had to grind his teeth to keep from coming too soon like a schoolboy with his first woman. Feeling the need to control her, he pinned her arms again and kissed her roughly. He guided himself into her and kept pushing in until he was fully seated. He stopped for a moment and kissed her again. He sucked her lower lip into his mouth and bit down on it scraping along as he slowly let it loose.

    He started to move slowly savoring the feeling. The feeling of coming home washed over him. It was familiar and new at the same time. The way her hips rose up to meet his, the sounds coming from her mouth, her sobs were all straight from his memories. The ample frame and larger breasts were all new and exciting. “Faster please.” Jen begged and he lost his train of thought. He pulled her legs tighter around him as he thrust faster and harder grinding into her, he felt her spasm around him and kept moving through her climax. Her cries were sweet music to his ears. He lost his rhythm and moved as fast as he could until his own orgasm swept through him. He propped himself up not wanting to separate yet. His head dropped back between her breasts and gave a quick lick capturing a bead of sweat on his tongue. The salty taste made him smile as he rolled over, taking her with him.

    Jen snuggled against him, her head resting on his chest. She listened to his heart start to slow as his hand caressed up and down her back. “Thank you.” She avoided his eyes as said it.

    “No liebling, thank you.” Stefan tilted her face up to him and pressed his lips to her forehead.

    “Liebling?” She asked quietly.

    He kissed the top of her head. “It means love. You are my love.” Stefan cupped her cheek and stared into her eyes. “My one love.”

    She backed away, her vision of the other woman springing to the front of her mind. “I need to clean up.” As she looked down at his stomach, her eyes slid lower and her eye was caught by something. The condom had split and had rolled back down towards the band. “The condom broke.” Her voice was horrified.

    Stefan jolted up and looked down. The condom was broken. When he found the wrapper, his heart felt as if it had fallen into his stomach. The expiration date was a year earlier. He put his face in his hands and thought frantically. “When was your last cycle?”

    “Two weeks ago.” She felt panic crawl up her throat and tears smart in her eyes.

    “We will handle this as it comes liebling. Get cleaned up and dressed. There is a shower in the bathroom.” He grabbed his pants and watched her disappear into the bathroom hobbling with her crutch.

    Jen let the tears flow in the shower. She stayed quiet because she did not know if the bathroom was as soundproof as the bedroom. Cleaning up quickly, she wrapped herself in a towel. She waved at the door as she re-entered the bedroom and quietly gathered her things from the floor. By the time he was done with his own shower, she was dressed and lying back in the bed with her back to him. Her breathing was even and slow, so he assumed she had fallen asleep. He dressed and climbed back in bed holding her close. He fell asleep happily with her scent still in his nose.

    Jen waited until he was snoring before pulling herself away from him. She made her way painfully to the main area of the plane and sat heavily in her seat. She glanced at Sasha and Val and noticed her hair looked like a bird had made a nest in it and Val’s shirt’s buttons were not matched up right.   _ At least I wasn’t the only one who joined the mile high club. _ She mused to herself.

    Michael came out of the cockpit and smiled at her. He quietly retrieved a diet coke for her and she felt like a heel. She accepted it with a smile of her own and he sat next to her holding her hand. “I will keep you safe. This is a whole new life. You will be happy, I know.”

    She smiled and shook her head. “I’m tired, I just want to lie back and try to get a nap okay?”

    He nodded and kissed her forehead. “Whatever you need.”

    She set aside her soda and leaned back her chair. Stifling back tears was hard, it was made harder when he pulled out a blanket and laid it over her. “Sleep well my love.” Jen closed her eyes and finally let herself drift off.

    She woke to Johan tapping her shoulder. “We are landing. Please put your seat up and buckle.” Jen nodded and pushed the blanket off. Her stomach rumbled, but she did not say anything as she prepared to land in another part of the country.

    Stefan smiled at her from his seat and had a happy glow. She felt awful. She had promised herself that she was not going to sleep with either of the men and the first time she was alone with one of them she let herself take advantage of it. On top of everything else, there could be the problem of possible pregnancy. 

    For years she had tried to have a child with her ex-husband, but she could never carry one past three months. Four miscarriages had convinced him to seek out another woman with a ready made family. Jen took a deep breath and reminded herself that the likelihood of getting pregnant the first time was little to none. 

    She could hear Sasha and Val kissing again and she closed her eyes feeling nauseated. Something was pressed into her hands and her eyes snapped open. Johan had pressed saltine crackers into her hand as he passed by. “Thank you.” Jen said simply.

   Johan nodded back at her and strapped himself in. They hit turbulence and Jen quickly ate some of the crackers to keep from retching. Her diet soda went flying during a sharp drop and her pants ended up wet with the dark liquid. Their touchdown was harder than any other she had been in and it jolted her head back. They taxied to a stop and she sat there for a moment trying to sort herself out. Michael unbuckled and knelt next to her. Helping her with her buckle, he scooped her up and took her back to the bedroom. Their suitcases that had been sitting neatly in the corner, were now thrown around the room. He set her down on the edge of the bed and snagged her bag handing her another pair of pants. “Do you need help?”

    “I’m good. I won’t need help until we have to disembark.” She waited for him to turn his back before slipping out of the soaked pants and slipped on a black pair of leggings. Even in the middle of a crisis, she was still vain and left her blouse loose enough to hide her stomach. Jen shook her head at herself.  “All right. I am decent.”

   Michael laughed and scooped her up again. He got her settled back in a different seat. Stefan was busy cleaning up the spilled drink.

   They could feel the vibrations of the fuel tanker hooking up to fill the plane for the nine and a half hour part of their journey. Stefan opened the hatch and accepted the food delivery. The smell of Chinese food made her mouth water. He laid the spread over a table that rose up from the floor. Jen pounced on the sweet and sour pork and laughed when Sasha made a rude gesture in her direction. She settled for chicken chow mein and an egg roll. It was a veritable feast that had been ordered. Everyone found something to help fill their stomachs. “There is also fruit and sandwich ingredients in the fridge as well as microwave popcorn for once we are at cruising altitude again. No one will go hungry, but I thought this would be a good way to fuel ourselves as the plane is fueled.”

    “Why here, why not London?” Jen asked between bites of food.

    “Price of fuel and of course, excellent Chinese food. I have yet to find food to compare over there.” He winked at her.

    “If you want good Chinese food, you have to go to a little town outside Salzburg. Grödig I think it was called. I stayed there when I was just out of high school. I did a summer college thing for art.” She smirked as Michael’s jaw dropped.

    “You were in Austria ten years ago?” He was quickly cataloging faces in his mind.

    “Yeah for about three weeks. I went everywhere the Sound of Music was filmed and even went to Hallstatt. I went to Germany; Venice, Italy; and Prague, Czech Republic.” She set aside the empty food container with a wistful sigh.

    “You were a bit heavier, had a tight perm and liked Mozart Ball chocolates right?” His eyes narrowed as he concentrated.

    “How did you know?” Jen asked. Amusement bubbled up in her as she saw the others looking back and forth between them as if at a tennis match.

    “How could I be so stupid!” Michael smacked himself in the forehead. “Anna and I were there on our honeymoon. You went down a side street to a little Chinese restaurant and had sweet and sour pork with tea and steamed rice not fried. Anna said you looked familiar, but she could not place you. As she was going to go over and talk to you, you left. You were joking with a red haired girl about going to get more Mozart Balls since you were addicted to them.”

    Jen was quiet for a moment. For once she truly had no words. He had seen her on his honeymoon. She had been that close to him and never got the chance to talk to him. “Can I see a picture of Anna again?”

    He pulled out a picture of the two of them and Jen went pale. In her mind, she could picture them both at a table. The restaurant was a little kitschy, but the sweet and sour had been good with garlic peeking through in the sauce. She had seen them and sighed at how cute they were together. She had quietly sent them a blessing before she left. Her travel partner Karyn had distracted her by teasing her about chocolates. “Karyn was trying to get me to try other chocolates. We were joking about me being addicted. I saw you and wished I could be that in love with someone.” She ran her fingertip over Anna’s face. “She looked so hopeful and full of life. She looked like nothing bad had ever touched her. I remember wishing I was her.”

    “I could have found you ten years ago. This would not be happening if Anna and I had not hesitated. You never told me.” Michael started blaming himself.

    “We found each other when we were meant to. If we had met then, we may not have been ready for all of this. I would not have met Sasha. Those who are after us would have it so that we never found each other again. This is our time, this is as the Gods meant it to be.” Jen reminded him. She handed back the picture and excused herself to the bathroom.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last new chapter until I get some feedback from someone other than my sister.

Chapter 10

  
  
  


“I am so glad to be off that plane.” Sasha turned in circles and flung her arms out.

    Jen ducked in the wheelchair. “Careful!” She looked down at her feet and scowled at her ankle.

    “Michael!” A feminine voice rang out into the hangar where the plane was parked. “Daddy, daddy, daddy!” A little blond haired girl came bouncing into the hangar and threw herself at him. He scooped her up with a whoop of laughter and tossed her in the air. He snuggled her when she came back down and Jen couldn’t help but smile at the picture they made. She recognized Anna when she followed and held in a sigh of envy at the woman’s beauty.    


    “Hallo liebling, hallo mein schatz.” He leaned down slightly to kiss his wife. She complimented him. She was only a couple of inches shorter than him with dark hair and blue eyes. Jen looked away from the family reunion.     


    “And your friends? It was bad of you to give me so little information Michael.” Anna scolded him teasingly. She introduced herself to Sasha and then bent over to look Jen in the eyes. “Welcome back.” Instead of shaking her hand, she held out a photo. Jen was in shock. It was her when she was in Salzburg.

    “When did you take this?” She examined the curly hair and rounder face. Laughter and joy shone out of her eyes, she had been so young when it had been taken.     


    “You had finished your dinner. Your friend was teasing you. I was going to introduce myself after I took it. I never got the chance. I regretted missing that chance.” Anna put her finger under Jen’s chin and tilted her face up. “The pain in your eyes says much. I hope that you will share it with me. Perhaps it will lessen it.”     


    Jen’s mind and eyes shuttered against showing any emotion or thought. It was an automatic reaction to sympathy. She gave a smile that never reached her eyes. “I am sure we will have time to get to know each other. Your daughter is beautiful. She takes after her mother.”     


    Anna nodded and held out her hand to the little girl. Michael set her down and shot a look at Sasha. All Sasha could do was shake her head and mouth silently, “later.” “This is our Hope. She is our miracle child. I may never have another, but she keeps me busy enough for three.” Anna jostled her and surprised a smile out of her daughter.

    “I am glad to meet you Hope. You look like your mommy.  Do you act like your daddy?” Jen shook the child’s hand matching the gravity of her expression at completing such an adult task.

    “Only if I want my bottom paddled or my mouth washed out with soap.” Her snappy reply made everyone in the hangar laugh.

    “Enough Hope, I am not that bad.” Michael picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder. She gave squeals of excitement and laughter. “Mommy says you are.”

    “Oh does she now?” Michael raised an eyebrow at Anna.

    “Uh huh, she says you need to be spanked more and to be punished.” Hope said parroting her mother’s words.

    Jen’s eyes flew wide and a giggle escaped before she could rein it in. “Well she certainly is precocious. I would like to get some food soon though. As nice as the sandwiches were, I think we need something more substantial. We haven’t had a real meal since New York.”

    “How thoughtless of me. I was so happy to see Michael and to know that I would be seeing you again that I did not think of your long flight. Let us get back to the estate and we can order in.” Anna walked back to the car and pulled out a pair of crutches with a bow. “Michael said you would need these. Something about Johan startling you and your ankle being sprained?”

    Johan grimaced, but said nothing. Jen nodded in relief and used the crutches to lever herself out of the chair. “Thank you so much. For this I could kiss you! I got so tired of Michael or Stefan having to carry me.”

    Anna winked at her. “Be careful, I might take you up on that.” Hope tugged on her mom’s shirt. “Ja, kleine?”

    In a stage whisper the little girl scolded her mom. “You are only supposed to flirt with daddy! He said so.”

    “When does mommy do what daddy says?” Anna winked at Jen and used the same volume back to her daughter.

    “When you want daddy to wrestle with you.” Hope stated her hands on her little hips.     


    Even Johan could not resist laughing. All but Michael and Anna were laughing. Hope turned to the others and scowled at them. “That was a private talk with me and mommy!” She stomped her foot. That did not help the adults stop laughing. Even Anna and Michael joined in. Hope pouted, her feelings were hurt. In her mind she was only trying to help.

    “Val, your car is still here, as is Stefan’s. I hope no one minds if Michael and I steal Jen away for a bit?” Anna watched Stefan and Sasha’s reactions. Stefan quickly stuffed down a denial and nodded. Sasha was not so easily quelled.

    “I don’t trust her out of my sight. Her life is in danger and you would have us split up.” Sasha glared at Anna.

    “You will all be meeting at our house. You will all be reunited within an hour.” Michael scooped up Hope and headed for the car. He was confident his wife was going to get her way.

    Jen stepped in before anyone argued too much. Her head hurt and all she wanted was some food. “I’ll go with Michael and Anna. You guys get to their house as soon as possible. I will be safe with them.”

    She stopped any protest by following in the direction Michael took. She heard Anna following her. “So Anna, why is it so important that I ride with you?”

    “Why Lyra, of course it is important.” Anna teased Jen openly and laughed when the woman’s jaw dropped in shock. Jen spotted the emerald necklace around the woman’s neck, but she waited until they seated themselves in the town car before saying anything.

    “So Michael, why didn’t you tell me your wife knew who I was?” She asked quietly.

    “I didn’t know. Anna, why did you call her Lyra?” He glanced at Hope who was happily playing with the radio. Jen spared a moment to wonder if Michael drove himself anywhere. The driver obviously was used to the girl, but thankfully Michael raised the partition between them and the pair in the front seat.

    “Because that is who she is.” Anna played with her emerald pendant and grinned at her husband. “Is she not Linden?” She gave an all out laugh at Michael’s shocked expression. She wiped tears from the corners of her eyes. “If you two could see your faces. I have not been this amused in a very long time.”

    He reached over and grabbed Anna’s wrist. She frowned at him, but did not pull away. “How long have you known?”

    “For as long as I can remember. I had dreams about a copper haired woman with a magical voice. She would tuck me into bed and teach me how to fix what went wrong with people. She loved me and raised me. I dreamed about her husband. He was always kind to me. He loved the red headed woman very much and it filled my heart with happiness.” She slipped her wrist out of her husband’s hand.

    “When did you know who I am and who she is?” Michael’s tone was harsh.     


    “I knew before I married you. I knew her when I laid my eyes on her on our honeymoon. Do you think I would not know my foster mother and mentor no matter what face she wore? Why else would I have taken a picture of a stranger or been nervous to talk to someone. When am I ever nervous to talk to people?” She kissed his cheek and winked at Jen.    

    “Tianna.” Jen breathed the name in wonder. She had a name and a flash of a face, but memories tantalizingly slipped away.     


    “Tianna?” Michael studied her closely finally seeing what Jen had. He pulled her in his arms and kissed her. “You sneaky brat. I always knew you had feelings for me.”     


    “This is nice and all, but I don’t think I can take much more. My head hurts. I’m grouchy and I’m hungry.” She ground out her complaints grinding her teeth against the pain. “I’ve been sick, my house was burned down and a woman tried to kill me and Sasha. That is just the last thirty-six hours. All I want is something to eat and somewhere safe to sleep. We can sort anything else out.”

    Anna frowned at her. “You do not remember me?”

    “I remember almost nothing. Someone spelled me to keep me from my memories and abilities.” She tugged her hair to try and clear her head. The brief flash of discomfort pulled information from the back of her mind. “Wait, if you knew who I was, then you have known all these years that Michael was my husband in another world. Why did you let him come to me?”

    “So that we can all go home. It is time for the land to be restored.” Anna reached out and touched Jen’s knee.

   A flash of intuition hit her. “You made the website. You know others who remember?” Jen leaned her head against the side of the car. The pain was getting worse.

   “There are a few of us that remember. If Michael had not gone to you, we would have. Stefan is Ranulf is he not? When did you sleep with him?” Anna watched Jen concerned about her health.

   “Yeah, he is Ranulf. What makes you think I have slept with him?” Jen closed her eyes and tried to push the pain away far enough to concentrate.

   “You have a bite mark on your collarbone. Since I know you would be too honorable to sleep with someone else’s husband, it would have to be him or Johan. Since Stefan reacted to you riding with us and Johan did not, it was a process of elimination.” Anna waved a hand as if  it were nothing.

    Michael’s eyes cut to Jen’s shirt and a low growl rumbled out of him. “I will fire him.”

   “It just happened. I went to lie down and things went from there. It is more my fault than his. I will not be happy if you fire him over something that has nothing to do with his work.” Jen crossed her arms over her chest and huddled into herself.

   “Enough. Ranulf has been in her life longer and more consistently than you. They are both single and you are not.” Anna smacked him on the arm.

   “Stop. My head feels like it is going to explode. My pills are in my suitcase and Sasha has that.” She leaned forward and rested her head in her hands.

   “Let me see if I can help.” Anna laid her hands on the back of Jen’s neck and hummed softly to herself. Jen fought not to react to the feeling of another person’s energy touching hers. She sighed as she felt a little of the pain lifting away.

    “Thank you.” She tried to pull away and had to smile as she felt Anna kiss the top of her head.

   “Thank yourself, you taught me.” Anna replied cheekily. “Oh and Michael, as long as Hope is asleep and I get to join in, I have no problem with you sleeping with Jen.”

   Jen’s head flew up and saw gray on the edges of her vision. She swayed in the seat and felt Michael gather her to him. Leaning into his strength, she took slow breaths to try and control the pain.

   “That was not nice Anna. She does not remember. Not you, not home, not the kids she has raised and loved. She does not remember Sashalia or Kieran.” He gently ran his fingers through her hair trying to help her relax against the pain.

    “Not at all? Then how did she know my name?” Anna bounced in her seat, much as her daughter was doing up front.

    “Flashes of things. She had them of myself and Ranald when she touched us at home, but you are the first she has remembered here. I think because you were one of her kids.” He felt Jen take deeper breaths and relax a bit in his arms.

   “It is good she is here then. We can help her.” Anna switched to German and Jen lost track of the conversation. She tried to block out what seemed like an argument between the two, but with the little German she had heard in the past, it was always like that. She was relieved when they finally stopped for more than a few moments and the door was opened. Michael carried her inside while Anna brought Hope and the crutches. She kept her eyes shut against the light and tried to keep from being sick.

   She sank into the feather bed she was laid on and sighed at the cool pillow under her head. Michael brought a trash can and put it next to the edge of the bed. After a few minutes Anna returned with ice packs. She put one on Jen’s head and the other on her ankle. She whimpered in relief.

   Sasha bounded in carrying a bottle of pills and a glass of water. She took out one of her migraine pills and a vicodin and helped Jen swallow them. She gave her a fruit bar and sat next to the bed talking to her quietly.

   “I’m sorry. I didn’t make sure you had your pills. I could see you weren’t feeling well when we got off the plane, but I was too distracted by Val.

    “‘s all righ’” Jen slurred out. She was fighting to stay conscious against the onslaught of pain.

   “No it isn’t, but to save you from arguing with me I will stop talking about it.” She touched Jen’s hand and sighed. “Val wants to get married as soon as possible. It will take about a month though. My mom has to send some paperwork. Stefan wants to marry you. He says that he has your paperwork.”

   Jen did not say anything. She was slowly drifting off to sleep. She woke a little when Val came in, but once he had climbed into the bed and snuggled up behind her, she fell asleep


End file.
